By 

Arthur  Liulfe.ma. 


/2..ZC 


& 


ol  iUe  Skwtegfeirf  * 


4^* 

^J>^  PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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BQ  4005  .L5  1900 
Lillie,  Arthur,  b.  1831 
Buddha  and  Buddhism 


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M. 


7 

THE   WORLDS   EPOCH-MAKERS 

EDITED  jfc 

OLIPHANT  VSMEATON 


Buddha  and  Buddhism 


VI   . 


By  Arthur  Lillie 


Previous   Volume  in  this  Series  : — 

Luther    and 

The  German  Reformation. 

By  Thomas  M.  Lindsay,  D.D. 
For  List  of  Volumes  already  issued  and  in  preparation  see  end. 


■ 

THE    WORLD'S    EPOCH-MAKERS 


Buddha  and 

Buddhism 


By 

Arthur  Lillie 

Author  of 

Buddhism  in  Christendom"  "The  Popular  Life  of  Buddha 

etc.  etc. 


O  God  in  the  form  of  Mercy  !  " 

Ancient  Stone  Inscription,   Gaya 


New  York.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons 

1900 


PREFACE 


The  Queen  has  in  her  possession  a  piece  of  ivory  or 
bone  little  valued  by  her  white-faced  subjects,  but 
immensely  esteemed  by  the  Buddhists  of  all  lands. 

"The  possessor  of  the  Tooth  of  Buddha  will  have 
the  dominion  of  the  World."  Thus  runs  the  ancient 
fiat,  and  a  thoughtful  French  admiral  told  his  com- 
patriots the  other  day  that  this  proud  position  had 
actually  been  attained  by  Britain.  But  he  did  not, 
of  course,  attribute  it  to  the  possession  of  the  Tooth 
of  Buddha,  or  indeed  mention  that  object  at  all.  He 
showed  that  the  British  fleet  possessed  an  astounding 
power,  which  he  strongly  advised  his  compatriots  not 
to  undervalue. 

But  there  is  moral  force  as  well  as  physical  power ; 
and  the  position  of  Her  Gracious  Majesty  in  the  world 
is  certainly  unique.  She  holds  in  her  dominions  the 
most  vital  sections  of  all  the  great  religions  of  the 
past.  Her  subjects  pray  to  Christ,  and  Buddha,  and 
Brahma,  and  Jehovah.  They  honour  Zarathustra, 
and  Moses,  and  Mahomet.  Benares,  the  holy  city  of 
the  greatest  religious  section  of  her  subjects,  is  in 
her  domains.  The  most  intelligent  of  the  Mussulman 
populations  flourish  peaceably  in  Delhi  and  the  other 
Indian  cities,  where   their   creed   of   old  attained  its 


VI 


PREFACE 


greatest  triumphs.  The  Buddhists  of  Burniah  and 
Ceylon  are  more  enlightened  than  the  Buddhists  of 
other  lands.  No  wonder  that  thoughtful  minds  begin 
to  see  in  all  this  a  possible  mission  for  England, 
namely,  to  fuse  the  creeds  of  the  world  in  one  great 
crucible  and  eliminate  the  superstitious  parts.  Ancient 
creeds  had  much  in  common,  and  it  is  this  common  por- 
tion, the  vital  essence,  that  has  been  allowed  to  evaporate. 

A  short  time  ago  a  writer  in  the  Revue  des  Deux 
Mondes  announced  that  the  Nineteenth  Century  had 
experienced  two  great  surprises.  The  first  was  the 
discovery,  due  to  Colebrooke  and  the  earlier  Sanskrit 
scholars,  that  the  poems  of  early  Greece  were  not 
altogether  original.  Jove  and  his  Mount  Olympus 
had  been  anticipated  by  Indra  and  his  Mount  Meru ; 
the  feats  of  Hercules  had  been  matched  by  Bhima. 
Parnassus  and  Apollo  and  the  Muses  had  proto- 
types in  Mount  Govudun,  redolent  with  the  music  of 
Krishna  and  the  Gopis ;  and  that  even  the  great  hordes 
of  gods  and  men,  and  their  muster  to  avenge  the 
rape  of  a  pretty  woman,  had  been  previously  made 
into  a  great  epic  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges. 

The  seeond  surprise  was  perhaps  more  important. 
It  was  discovered  that  the  loftier  ideals  of  Christianity, 
its  substitution  of  the  principle  of  forgiveness  for  that 
of  revenge,  its  broad  catholicity,  its  missionary  energy, 
and  even  its  rites  and  parabolic  legends,  were  due  to 
an  earlier  religious  reformer.  Of  him  this  little  work 
proposes  to  treat.  If  these  last  statements  can  be  sub- 
stantiated, Buddha  without  doubt  may  take  his  place 
amongst  the  "  Epoch-Makers  of  the  World." 

There  are  converts  and  converts.  If  a  man  is  forced 
to  kneel  down,  if  his  neck  is  laid  bare  and  another 


PREFACE  vii 

man  with  a  scimitar  then  and  there  induces  him  to 
accept  certain  creed-formulas,  his  case  in  one  sense 
may  be  called  a  conversion.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  a  man  in  a  combustible  dress  tied  to  a  stake  and 
threatened  with  burning  faggots  and  a  lighted  torch. 
But  Buddhist  conversions  differ  in  this,  that  the  man 
with  the  bare  neck  converts  the  man  with  the  sword, 
the  man  with  the  combustible  dress  converts  the  man 
with  the  torch.  Islam  in  its  early  strength  advanced 
to  root  out  Buddhism  in  Persia,  Egypt,  Asia  Minor. 
The  result  was  that  half  the  conquering  phalanx 
became  Buddhists.  The  Crusaders  strove  to  root  out 
Islam,  with  a  similar  result.  The  Society  of  the  Rose 
made  a  conquest  of  the  Templars  and  other  Knights 
Hospitallers,  and  these  brought  back  to  Europe  Bud- 
dhism and  the  Reformation. 

The  first  modern  study  of  Buddhism  commenced  in 
one  of  our  colonies.  It  was  conducted  chiefly  by  the 
missionaries  for  missionary  purposes ;  and  great  credit 
is  due  to  the  missionaries  of  Ceylon  for  their  scholar- 
ship, their  industry,  their  honesty.  But  once  more  the 
curious  phenomenon  began  to  be  noticeable.  The 
learned  works  written  to  "expose"  Buddhism  made 
no  converts  amongst  the  Buddhists,  but  many  in 
Christendom.  Schopenhauer  led  the  way,  and  drew 
half  the  intelligence  of  Germany  in  his  wake.  Then 
came  the  startling  works  of  Bishop  Bigandet  and  the 
Abbe"  Hue.  M.  Leon  de  Rosny  announced  a  short  time 
ago  that  there  were  20,000  Buddhists  in  Paris  alone. 

If  the  dead  bones  of  an  ancient  creed  can  thus  stir 
in  the  valley,  it  seems  certainly  worth  while  to  inquire 
what  that  creed  was  like  in  the  days  of  its  youth  and 
strength. 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I.    INTRODUCTO FA- 


IL   THE   RELIGION   OF   THE   RISHI     . 

III.    BUDDHA 

IV.    THE    "WISDOM   OF   THE   OTHER   RANK " 
V.    PARABLES 

vi.  after  buddha's  death   . 

VII.    KING  ASOKA 

VIII.    PYRRHO-BUDDHA  .... 

IX.  THE  apostles  of  the  bloodless  altar 
X.  MORE  coincidences. 

XI.    RITES 

XII.    BUDDHA   IN   NORWAY   AND  AMERICA 

XIII.    CONCLUSION 

GLOSSARY   AND   INDEX 


PAGE 
1 

9 

24 

49 

63 

95 

113 

134 

151 

169 

191 

198 

209 

219 


ix 


BUDDHA    AND    BUDDHISM 


CHAPTER   I 

INTRODUCTORY 

Let  us  suppose  that  a  "  Day  of  Brahma,"  of  the  pattern 
imaged  by  Hindus,  has,  with  mighty  flames  and  vast 
streams  of  volcanic  lava,  burnt  up  the  present  race  of 
mankind,  and  that  by  and  by,  in  further  fulfilment  of 
Eastern  dreams,  a  new  race  has  developed.  Let  us  sup- 
pose also  that  some  individuals  of  this  new  race  have 
discovered  in  a  cave  in  Brittany  two  tractates  miracu- 
lously preserved — the  one  a  sort  of  ancestor-worship  by 
a  religious  reformer  named  Comte,  and  the  other  by  one 
"  Catholicus,"  setting  forth  another  scheme  of  ancestor 
or  saint-worship,  with  pilgrimages  to  their  shrines  and 
temples,  cures  performed  at  holy  tanks,  remissions  of 
future  fire  torture  by  the  intercession  of  priests. 

This  discovery  would,  of  course,  make  much  noise 
in  learned  colleges,  and  in  process  of  time  the  tractates 
would  be  deciphered,  and  it  would  be  seen  that  one  of 
these  religions  had  plainly  been  derived  from  the 
other.  Which  was  the  earlier?  This  was  warmly 
debated,  until  by  and  by  the  question,  let  us  imagine, 


2  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

was  settled  to  the  satisfaction   of   all   by   a   learned 
writer  named  Excelsior. 

Excelsior  showed  that  this  man  Comte  (if  he  was  a 
real  man,  and  not  a  tendency)  was  a  man  of  genius,  a 
philosopher,  a  man  of  science.  His  main  postulate  was 
that  religion,  like  everything  else,  must  be  based  on 
the  facts  of  experience,  not  the  dreams  of  the  imagin- 
ation. His  motto  apparently  was:  "Man  we  know; 
God  we  do  not  know.  Let  us  confine  our  cultus  to 
the  known.  Let  us  honour  the  illustrious  that  have 
gone  before  us.  Their  exertions  have  made  us  what 
we  are.  We,  too,  may  improve  the  race  by  our  exer- 
tions here,  and  by  our  memory  hereafter." 

There  was  nothing  really  superstitious  in  the  cultus 
of  the  man  Comte,  because  it  was  admitted  that  the 
saints  of  this  religion  were  really  dead.  They  had 
passed  into  the  great  "Temple  of  Nothingness." 

Excelsior  then,  in  a  few  vigorous  paragraphs,  poured 
out  his  scorn  on  those  who  could  imagine  a  man  like 
Comte  plagiarising  the  miserable  superstitions  of  the 
creed  of  "  Catholicus."  It  is  plain  that  the  latter  was 
the  scheme  of  Comte  turned  inside  out,  vulgarised, 
debased — probably  by  priests,  for  greed  and  power 
many  centuries  after  the  death  of  Comte. 

In  our  learned  colleges  a  similar  topsy-turvy  ques- 
tion has  arisen.  There  are  two  Buddhisms.  The  first, 
on  the  surface,  seems  to  have  emerged  from  the  rude 
saint  deifications  of  the  previous  Brahminism.  The 
temple  in  those  days  was  the  sepulchral  mound,  even 
when  calcined  ashes  had  replaced  the  corpse.  The 
man  Buddha  was  worshipped  in  such  a  temple.  He 
was  invoked  in  the  Buddhist  litany  to  appear  at  the 
altar  during  the  sacrifice.     He  was  asked  to  forgive 


INTRODUCTORY  3 

sins.  He  was  addressed  by  the  titles  that  the  Hin- 
doos use  towards  their  Supreme  God.  In  the  White 
Lotas  of  Dharma  he  is  made  to  announce  that  a 
Buddha  is  an  incarnation  of  Swayambhu,  and  that  at 
death  he  goes  back  to  rule  the  universe  from  his 
throne  in  the  sky. 

The  second  Buddhism,  however,  proclaimed  that  a 
dead  Buddha  was  non-existent,  and  that  Swayambhu 
himself  was  non-existent ;  but  its  cultus  was  the  same 
as  the  other  Buddhism.  Its  followers  had  the  sepul- 
chral ddgoba,  or  relic  tumulus,  as  a  temple,  but  devoid 
of  relics.  They  asked  Buddha  to  appear  at  the  altar 
during  worship.  They  asked  him  to  forgive  sins. 
They  addressed  him  by  the  titles  that  the  Hindoos 
use  towards  their  Supreme  God.  Does  not  all  this 
seem  on  the  surface  to  have  been  the  outcome  of  an 
innovating  school,  an  atheistical  school,  altering  dogma 
but  unable  to  alter  ritual  ?  But  the  "  Excelsiors  "  of 
our  learned  colleges  will  not  admit  of  such  an  explana- 
tion, and  it  must  be  confessed  that  this  topsy-turvy 
Buddhism  has  a  real  support  in  topsy-turvy  Buddhist 
literature.  The  books,  which  some  five  hundred  years 
after  Buddha's  death  (under  the  collective  title  of  the 
"  Great  Vehicle  ")  revealed  the  Non-God  seated  on  his 
throne  of  Nothingness,  have  also  puzzling  Sutras 
announcing  Eternal  Life  for  all  men  in  a  paradise  of 
an  eternal  God.  This  has  allowed  English  writers  on 
Buddhism  to  contend  that  the  second  school  was  the 
Deistical  school — a  privilege,  however,  that  has  been 
now  completely  taken  away  from  them  by  the  pub- 
lication by  Professor  Max  Muller  of  the  Mahayana 
Sutras  in  his  collection,  the  Sacred  Books  of  the 
East 


4  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this  publication  has 
rendered  obsolete  the  greater  part  of  our  English 
disquisitions  on  Buddhism.     It  shows : 

1.  That  the  innovating  Buddhism  of  the  "  Great 
Vehicle  "  proclaimed  the  following : — 

There  is  no  God  and  no  material  world.  Man  comes 
from  the  Great  Nothing,  and  after  a  brief  dream  of 
non-existing  worlds  returns  to  it.  All  this  had  already 
been  given  to  the  public  by  Brian  Hodgson  and 
Rajendra  Lala  Mitra,  and  also  in  my  Popular  Life  of 
Buddha.  I  showed  also  from  Hwen  Thsang,  the 
Chinese  traveller,  that  this  innovating  Buddhism  was 
forced  upon  the  earlier  Buddhism  by  King  Kanaka 
about  A.D.  16. 

2.  But  a  new  fact  of  crucial  importance  has  emerged 
from  this  volume  of  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East. 
There  was  recoil  as  well  as  revolution.  Bound  up 
together  in  the  same  library  are  two  philosophies  and 
two  religions — distinct,  antagonistic,  internecine.  The 
eternal  Buddha,  Amitayas,  is  a  protest  against  the 
non-existent  Buddha. 

Brian  Hodgson  called  the  innovating  atheism  "Pyr- 
rhonism," and  by  the  aid  of  this  Mahdydna  Sutras  in 
the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East  we  can  have  no  doubt  as 
to  what  the  Pyrrho-Buddha  was  like.  From  one  of 
these  Sutras,  entitled  the  "Diamond  Cutter,"  I  will 
give  a  little  sketch  of  him. 

But  at  starting  I  must  point  out  that  Pyrrhonism  is 
scarcely  the  correct  word  for  this  school  of  Buddhism. 
Pyrrhonism  doubted  everything.  Pyrrho-Buddhism 
had  no  doubts  at  all.  The  difference  can  be  made  clear 
if  we  suppose  that  Pyrrho  and  Sakya  Muni  were  both 
asked   this   question :    "  Have   you   seen   the   disciple 


INTRODUCTORY  5 

Subhuti  this  morning,  and  was  his  head  bald,  and  did 
he  wear  the  yellow  cloak  ? " 

The  answer  of  Pyrrho  would  be  after  this  fashion : 
"  I  have  no  sufficient  evidence  that  I  exist,  nor  can  I 
get  it.  Such  being  the  case,  it  must,  of  course,  be 
doubtful  to  me  whether  I  possess  two  eyes.  And  if  I 
do  not  exist,  doubts  must  also  be  thrown  over  the 
existence  of  the  disciple  Subhuti,  his  bald  head,  and 
his  yellow  cloak  !  " 

The  answer  of  the  Pyrrho-Buddha  would  differ  from 
this. 

"  It  is  an  absolute  certainty  that  I  do  not  exist,  and 
it  is  an  absolute  certainty  that  my  two  eyes  do  not 
exist.  It  is  another  absolute  certainty  that  the  disciple 
Subhuti  does  not  exist,  and  a  non-existent  disciple  must 
have  a  non-existent  bald  head,  and  a  cloak  equally 
intangible;  but  stop  and  listen  to  the  whole  of  my 
revelation.  Although  it  is  an  absolute  certainty  that 
the  disciple  Subhuti  does  not  exist,  it  is  also  an 
absolute  certainty  that  he  does  exist.  It  is  a  certainty 
equally  absolute  that  his  bald  head  exists,  that  his 
yellow  cloak  exists.  It  is  an  absolute  certainty  also 
that  I,  Buddha,  do  not  exist,  but  it  is  also  an  absolute 
certainty  that  I  do  exist." 

Now  this  Buddhism,  which  we  may  call  the  "  Glad 
Tidings  of  Stupid  Contradiction,"  runs  through  the 
whole  of  the  Sutra  called  the  "  Diamond  Cutter."  It 
is  supposed  to  record  a  conversation  between  Buddha 
and  the  disciple  Subhuti,  in  the  Jetavana  grove  near 
Sravasti.  Buddha  declares  that  in  the  course  of  his 
many  transmigrations  a  Buddha  delivers  immeasurable 
millions  of  beings,  and  yet  not  one  is  ever  delivered 
(p.  114).    He  declares  that  the  coming  Buddbas  (Bodhi- 


6  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

satwas)  must  have  the  most  distinct  conception  of 
Dharma  (spiritual  religion),  and  also  no  conception  of 
Dharma  at  all.  They  must  have  understanding,  and 
no  understanding  (p.  117).  He  states  that  the  Buddhas 
have  preached  the  highest  perfect  knowledge,  and  that 
they  have  never  preached  the  highest  knowledge  at  all 
(p.  118).  It  affirms,  too,  that  the  Bodhisatwas  who 
study  the  "  Diamond  Cutter "  will  be  endowed  with 
miraculous  powers,  and  "  frame  to  themselves  a  true 
idea.  And  why  ? — because  a  true  idea  is  not  a  true 
idea !  Therefore  Buddha  preaches  '  A  true  idea,  a  true 
idea  indeed'"  (p.  126).  It  is  said  that  the  treatise  is 
to  be  entitled  the  Prajnd  Pdramitd  (the  Wisdom  of 
the  other  Bank),  because  it  is  not  the  Wisdom  of  the 
other  Bank.  Therefore  it  is  entitled  Prajnd  Pdramitd 
(p.  125). 

Here  is  a  specimen  of  the  argument : 

"  Therefore,  O  Subhuti,  a  noble-minded  Bodhisatwa, 
after  putting  aside  all  ideas,  should  raise  his  mind  to 
the  highest  perfect  knowledge.  He  should  frame  his 
mind  so  as  not  to  believe  in  form,  sound,  smell,  taste, 
or  anything  that  can  be  touched.  And  why  ?  Because 
what  is  believed  is  not  believed.  Therefore  the  Tatha- 
gata  preaches:  A  gift  should  not  be  given  by  a 
Bodhisatwa  who  believes  in  anything.  It  should  not 
be  given  by  one  who  believes  in  form,  sound,  smell, 
taste,  or  anything  that  can  be  touched." 

Now  all  this  could  not  be  the  work  of  an  absolute 
lunatic.  He  must  have  had  some  motive  for  these 
apparently  aimless  contradictions.  What  was  that 
motive  ?  After  exhausting  all  possible  theories,  I  have 
come  to  this  conclusion.  The  Pyrrho-Buddhists  were 
confronted  with  the  puzzling  question  of  the  earlier 


INTRODUCTORY  7 

literature.  They  could  not  destroy  it.  It  was  deter- 
mined to  neutralise  it  by  flooding  it  with  contradictory 
passages  ;  and  to  give  a  colour  to  this,  a  few  Sutras 
like  the  "  Diamond  Cutter "  and  the  Brahmajdla 
Sutra  had  to  be  composed  to  mystify  people.  Sir 
Monier  Monier- Williams  and  Professor  Rhys  Davids 
prove  Buddha  to  have  been  an  athiest  from  the  latter 
Sutra.     Its  importance  shall  be  dealt  with  further  on. 

But  I  must  emphasise  one  point.  Now  that  the 
Mahay  ana  Sutras  can  be  examined  by  all,  if  any  new 
writer  still  insists  on  depicting  Pyrrho-Buddha  as  the 
real  historical  Buddha,  he  must  give  us  the  complete 
Pyrrho-Buddha, — the  whole  statue,  not  an  arm  or  a 
nose.  I  will  explain  my  meaning.  Says  Dr.  Crozier 
in  the  Fortnightly  Review  for  February : 

"  He  (Buddha)  threw  out  the  Supreme  Soul  altogether 
as  a  piece  of  supererogation,  finding  that  he  could  get 
on  quite  as  well  without  it  in  his  explanation  of  the 
world." 

Now,  if  we  take  the  "  Diamond  Cutter "  or  the 
Brahmajdla  Siitra,  as  representing  accurately  the  talk 
by  which  Buddha  democratised  the  chief  religions  of 
Asia  and  Europe,  Dr.  Crozier  could  no  doubt  prove  his 
point ;  for  if  there  is  no  God  in  existence,  and  no  man 
at  all,  it  is  certain  that  no  man  can  be  a  theist.  But 
this  is  scarcely  stating  the  whole  case.  It  would  be 
just  as  easy  to  write  down  a  few  other  passages  like 
the  following : 

"  He  (Buddha)  threw  out  altogether  the  visible 
Kosmos  as  a  piece  of  supererogation,  finding  that  he 
could  get  on  quite  as  well  without  it  in  his  explanation 
of  the  Divine  scheme." 

Or  this : 


8  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

"  He  (Buddha)  threw  out  altogether  himself  and  his 
disciples  as  non-existent  things,  finding  that  he  could 
get  on  very  well  without  them  in  his  grand  project  of 
giving  Dharma  to  the  world." 

In  my  next  chapter  I  will  sketch  religion  in  India 
at  the  date  of  Buddha's  advent.  This  may  help  us  to 
judge  whether  a  Buddha  or  a  Pyrrho-Buddha  would 
be  most  likely  to  emerge.  Evolution,  not  capricious 
originality,  is  the  law  of  religious  development. 


CHAPTEK    II 

THE   KELIGION   OF   THE   RISHI 

In  the  earliest  Indian  epics,  like  the  Mahdbhdrata,  we 
find  no  mention  of  temples,  but  a  great  deal  about 
Tirthas,  or  sacred  tanks.  "  It  is  the  greatest  mystery 
of  the  Rishis,  excellent  son  of  Bharata.  The  holy 
pilgrimage  to  the  Tirthas  is  more  important  than 
sacrifices  to  the  gods."1 

In  another  verse  it  is  stated  that  five  nights'  sojourn 
at  the  Tirtha  of  Jambumarya  is  equal  to  the  fruit  of 
a  horse  sacrifice.  The  horse  sacrifice  was  the  most  im- 
portant of  Aryan  rites.  A  hundred  performances  of  it 
raised  the  sacrificer  to  the  level  of  Indra,  the  Supreme. 

"  May  the  pilgrim  bathe,  O  son  of  Bharata,  in  all  the 
Tirthas." 

Illustrious  saints  resided  in  Tirthas,  the  dead  as 
well  as  the  living.  Kapila  has  his  Tirtha,  the  Rishi 
Matanga,  the  Saint  Bhrigu. 

"  Go  where  the  greatest  Rishis  Valmiki  and  Kas- 
yapa,  Kundajathara,  the  son  of  Atri,  Visvamitra,  and 
Gautama,  Asita  Devala,  Markandeya  and  Galava, 
Bharadwaja  and  the  Solitary  Vasishtha,  Uddalaka, 
Saunaka,  and  his  son  Vyasa,  the  greatest  of  ascetics, 
Durvasas,  the  most  virtuous  of  anchorites,  Javali, 
of    the    terrible    macerations ;    go    where   these,    the 

1  Varta  Parva,  v.  4059. 


io  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

greatest  of  saints,  rich  in  penances,  are  waiting  for 
thee." 

What  does  all  this  mean  ? 

Simply  that  the  magical  powers  of  a  dead  Rishi,  or 
saint,  were  deemed  much  more  potent  than  the  magical 
powers  of  that  saint  when  living.  And  that  near  his 
sttifpa,  or  sepulchral  mound,  or  near  the  modest  tree 
where  he  was  buried,  a  tank  had  been  dug  to  take 
advantage  of  those  powers.  It  gave  drinking  water  to 
the  worshippers,  and  could  also  magically  cure  diseases, 
like  the  tank  of  St.  Anne  at  Auray  in  Brittany,  and 
exercise  other  charms. 

"  When  King  Suhotra  governed  this  globe  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  justice,  columns  of  sacrifice  and 
sacred  trees  were  planted  about  the  surface  of  the 
earth  [jalonnaient  la  terre — Fauche]  in  hundreds  of 
thousands.  They  shone  every  season  with  an  abund- 
ant harvest  of  men  and  grains."1 

"  He  offered  then,  O  most  virtuous  son  of  Bharata, 
an  hundred  solemn  sacrifices,  bidding  gods  and  Brah- 
mins. There  were  columns  of  sacrifice  in  precious 
stones  and  chaityas  [sepulchral  mounds]  of  gold." 

"The  Long-Haired  God  gave  by  thousands  and 
millions  columns  of  sacrifice  aud  chaityas  of  great 
splendour." 

These  allude  to  the  dolmens  and  stone  circles  like 
our  Abury  and  Maeshow.  They  are  spread  all  over 
India,  and  Dr.  Stevenson,  in  the  Asiatic  Journal, 
points  out  that  they  are  still  being  used.  The  holy 
tree  was  an  earlier  memorial  of  the  saint,  hero,  medicine 
man ;  and  it  is  very  conspicuous  at  the  holy  places  of 
pilgrimage,  for  it  figures  in  the  descriptions  of  the 

1  Mahabharata,  Adi  Parva,  v.  3717. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  RISHI         n 

Tirthas  that  Yudhishthira   in  the  Mahabharata  was 
enjoined  to  visit. 

"Where,  as  Brahmins  tell,  was  born  that  Indian 
fig-tree  of  which  the  cause  is  eternal  ? "  This  was  at 
Gaya.1 

At  Yamouna,  too,  it  is  announced :  "  There  is  the 
beautiful  and  the  holy  Tirtha,  named  the  Descent  6f 
the  Holy  Fig-Tree." 

And  when  the  heroes  of  the  epic — Krishna,  Bhima, 
and  Dhananjaya — assault  an  enemy's  city,  they  at 
once  run  and  demolish  the  sacred  tree  to  ward  off,  most 
probably,  hostile  spells : 

"Then  they  [Krishna,  Bhima,  and  Dhananjaya] 
rushed  upon  the  splendid  chaitya  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Magadha,  and  smote  it  on  the  crest  as  they  wished 
to  smite  Jarasandha. 

"  And  with  the  blows  of  their  great  arms  they  felled 
that  ancient  tree,  vast,  firmly  rooted,  with  airy  top, 
respected  by  all,  and  ever  honoured  with  incense  and 
garlands." 2 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  for  the  rude  earthen  dome 
of  the  stiqya,  for  the  more  modern  metal  canopy  or 
Baldechino,  and  for  the  sacred  tree,  the  same  Sanskrit 
word,  is  applied,  chaitya  (the  Kosmical  Umbrella). 

All  this  rather  reminds  us  of  the  days  of  Clovis  and 
his  relic  superstitions. 

"  How  can  we  hope  for  victory  if  we  offend  St. 
Martin ! " 

This  was  his  speech  when  he  cut  off  the  head  of  a 
soldier  who  had  foraged  a  little  hay  in  regions  defended 
by  the  bones  of  St.  Martin  of  Tours.  And  in  his 
Spanish  campaign  the  relics  of  St.  Vincent  at  Saragossa 

1  Vana  Parva.  v.  8307.  2  Sabha  Parva,  v.  816. 


12  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

proved  more  potent  than  many  archers  and  mailed 
warriors,  for  the  good  king  turned  aside  his  army  and 
fled  away  from  them.  Snorri  Storlusen  records  that 
Woden  gave  orders  that  hangs  (the  counterpart  of  the 
Buddhist  tope)  should  be  erected  over  the  calcined 
remains  of  heroes,  and  batausten  (standing  stones)  over 
their  bravest  soldiers.  But  the  tomb  of  the  dead  man 
was  his  dwelling-house  in  life.  In  India,  from  the 
date  of  the  hymns  of  the  Rig- Veda,  the  Sraddha  or 
worship  of  the  dead  man,  has  been  conspicuous.  Here 
is  a  portion  of  one  of  them : 

"  We  have  amidst  our  ancestors,  the  Angirases,  the 
Navagwas,  the  Atharvans,  the  Somyas ;  may  we  obtain 
their  favour,  their  benign  protection !  O  dead  man 
[the  corpse],  come  to  us !  Come  by  the  ancient  roads 
that  our  fathers  have  traversed  before  thee.  Behold 
these  two  kings,  Yama  and  the  divine  Varuna,  who 
rejoice  in  our  oblations. 

"Come  with  the  ancestors.  Come  with  Yama  to 
this  altar  which  our  piety  has  dressed.  Thou  hast  cast 
off  all  impurity.  Come  to  this  domain  and  don  a  body 
of  brilliance. 

"  O  ancestors,  disperse !  Go  every  one  to  his  own 
side.  A  place  has  been  set  apart  for  the  departed  one. 
Yama  permits  him  to  come  down  and  enjoy  our 
libations  morning  and  night. 

"  Give  our  libation  to  Yama  with  Agni  as  a  mes- 
senger.    Offer  to  Yama  a  holocaust  sweet  as  honey. 

"  Honour  to  the  First  Ones,  the  ancient  Rishis  who 
have  shown  us  the  way." 

This  ancestor- worship  is  still  prevalent  in  India,  and 
the  dead  man  much  propitiated.  An  English  magistrate 
of  hasty  temper  died  some  time  ago.     He  was  much 


THE  RELIGION   OF  THE  RISHI         13 

feared  by  the  natives,  and  to  calm  his  spirit  they  kept 
it  constantly  supplied  with  glasses  of  strong  brandy  - 
and- water  and  very  large  cheroots. 

But  in  process  of  time  the' burning  of  the  corpse 
succeeded  burial,  and  a  quaint  compromise  occurred. 
Colebrooke  tells  us  that  even  in  modern  times  the 
calcined  remains  of  a  Hindoo  are  put  into  a  pot  and 
buried  in  a  deep  hole,  and  over  the  spot  of  the  crema- 
tion a  mound  of  masonry  is  formed,  and  a  tree  or  a 
tank  or  a  flag  erected.  The  rich  can  afford  a  Chettri 
of  splendid  marble.  By  and  by  this  pot  is  dug  up,  and 
it  and  the  ashes  are  thrown  into  the  holy  river.  Here 
we  have  the  tank- worship,  the  sfa%<x-worship,  the  tree- 
worship  proving  too  strong  for  the  cremating  reformers. 
Perhaps,  too,  the  Brahmins  were  loth  to  give  up  so 
lucrative  a  superstition. 

My  friend  Major  Keith,  an  officer  who  held  a  high 
post  in  the  Archaeological  Department  in  India,  tells 
me  that  at  Lashkar,  a  spot  rarely  visited  by  white 
faces,  he  saw  the  statues  of  the  three  last  Scindiahs, 
each  under  his  Chettri.  Daily  food  and  drink  was 
served  to  these.  Then  rich  hookahs  were  filled  with 
exquisite  tobacco,  and  beautiful  dancing-girls  jingled 
their  bangles  in  front  of  the  marble  Rajahs. 

Why  places  of  pilgrimage  in  India  were  first  called 
"  Tanks,"  or  Tirihas,  and  why  the  name  has  stuck  to 
the  group  of  pilgrimage  accessories — holy  tree,  relic 
ddgopa,  stiipa,  etc.,  we  cannot  tell,  but  we  may  make  a 
plausible  guess.  First,  the  savage  medicine  man,  much 
feared  in  life,  was  buried  under  a  tree.  Drinking 
water  would  be  required  for  the  crowd  who  came  to 
his  grave  to  gain  spells  and  charms.  Hence  a  pond 
would  be  dusr.     Then  it  would  be  found  convenient  to 


i4  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

announce  that  this  water  was  the  main  apparatus  of 
the  magic.  Drink  it  or  bathe  in  it  and  you  could  put 
an  end  at  once  to  your  neuralgic  pains  or  your  favourite 
enemy.  No  wonder  that  from  an  early  date  the  Tirtha 
was  the  chief  word  used  for  the  shrines. 

Then  the  dead  man's  cairn  grew  and  grew,  and  when 
the  remains  were  burnt  a  dagopa  was  required  for  the 
calcined  ashes.  And  soon  utilitarian  additions  crept  in. 
In  point  of  fact,  astronomers  and  anthropologists  in 
recent  years  have  let  us  know  the  uses  that  the 
sepulchral  dolmen  or  stiqm  was  put  to.  It  was  at  once 
an  observatory,  a  church  clock,  an  almanac,  a  farmer's 
calendar,  in  days  when  church  clocks  and  almanacs 
were  not  invented.  And  the  shapeless,  huge,  impos- 
ing stone  gods  that  surrounded  it  were  part  of  the 
apparatus  of  the  astronomer.  One  of  the  earliest  con- 
structed dwellings  of  the  savage  man  in  a  cold  climate 
was  probably  a  tiny  chamber  of  boughs  and  loose 
stones,  with  a  covering  of  earth  for  warmth.  Such 
dwellings  are  numerous  in  Lapland,  and  in  the  Orkneys 
and  many  parts  of  Scotland  their  ruins  figure  under  the 
title  of  "  Picts'  Houses."  From  the  cairn  came  the  tope. 
We  now  come  to  an  important  point,  the  religions 
that  the  man  on  the  top  of  the  stupa  evolved  from 
watching  stars  and  sunsets  and  sunrises. 

Says  Colebrooke  of  the  Rig- Veda :  "  The  deities  in- 
voked appear,  on  a  cursory  inspection  of  the  Veda,  to 
be  as  various  as  the  authors  of  the  prayers  addressed 
to  them;  but,  according  to  the  most  ancient  annota- 
tions of  the  Indian  scripture,  these  numerous  names  of 
persons  and  things  are  all  resolvable  into  different 
titles  of  three  deities,  and  ultimately  of  one  God."1 

1  Colebrooke,  Essags,  vol.  i.  p.  25. 


THE  RELIGION   OF  THE  RISHI         15 

Wilson,  the  Orientalist,  follows  suit  and  tells  us  that 
it  is  specially  announced  by  an  old  Indian  commentator 
of  the  Vedas  that  the  various  names,  Mitra,  Agni, 
Pushan,  Bhaga,  etc.,  are  merely  applied  to  the  sun  in 
reference  to  his  various  halting  -  places  during  his 
yearly  journey.1 

The  twelve  gods  were  also  called  the  Twelve  Adityas, 
or  Months.  Aditi,  the  mighty  Mother,  had  twelve  sons. 
She  and  Varuna  and  Mitra — matter,  Spirit,  and  the 
Sun — were  probably  the  Trinity  in  Unity  to  which 
Colebrooke  alludes. 

"They  [the  Brahmins]  have  always  observed  the 
order  of  the  gods  as  they  are  to  be  worshipped  in  the 
twelvemonth,"  says  the  Rig- Veda  (vii.  103). 

"The  year  is  Prajapati  [the  Divine  Man],"  says  the 
Aitareya  Brahmana. 

"  Thou  dividest  thy  person  in  twelve  parts,"  says  a 
hymn  of  the  Mahabharata  to  the  divinity,  "  and  thou 
becomest  the  Twelve  Adityas." 2 

The  "  God  in  twelve  persons  "  is  another  expression 
from  the  same  poem. 

"These  pillars,  ranging  in  rows  like  swans,  have 
come  to  us  erected  by  pious  Rishis  to  the  East.  They 
proceed  resplendent  on  the  path  of  the  gods." 

The  Sanskrit  word  for  an  upright  unhewn  monolith 
is  "  stambha."  The  same  word  was  used  later  on  for 
the  temporary  "  posts  "  erected  during  a  horse  sacrifice. 
A  monolith  is  also  called  "  Mahadeo  "  (Great  God),  even 
in  modern  times. 

Much  unwisdom  has  been  written  about  the  hymns 
of  the  Rig- Veda,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  writers 

1  Wilson's  note,  Rig-Veda,  vol.  i.  p.  34. 

2  Vana  Parva,  v.  189. 


16  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

ignored  the  close  connection  between  the  standing 
stones  and  the  hymns.  In  point  of  fact,  at  an  early 
date  the  Rishi  on  the  top  of  the  stupa  judged  that  if 
man  was  to  have  any  outside  religious  rites  at  all,  he 
should  seek  to  combine  harmoniously  his  knowledge 
and  his  lofty  dreams.  His  rites  should  be  at  once 
utilitarian  and  theological.  He  judged  that  as  the 
year  marched  along  the  ecliptic  from  stone  god  to 
stone  god,  the  worship  of  each  should  illustrate  the 
changes.  The  Vedic  zodiac,  and  the  rites  and  sym- 
bolism attached  to  it,  I  have  fully  treated  in  my 
Buddhism  in  Christendom,  chap,  xxiii. 

Colebrooke  gives  us  the  early  Nakshetras  (lunar 
mansions),  and  we  find  each  called  after  Aditi,  Varuna, 
or  some  other  Vedic  god.  But  the  man  on  the  stupa 
soon  observed  that  most  of  these  gods  disappeared 
after  a  time,  but  that  the  pole  star  and  the  Great  Bear 
never  disappeared.  They  became,  the  first,  the  throne 
of  the  Almighty,  and  the  second,  the  Seven  Rlshis. 
From  the  extravagant  way  in  which  the  Seven  Great 
Sages  are  talked  of  in  the  sacred  books,  one  might 
imagine  at  times  that  the  Hindoos  believe  in  a  sort  of 
Committee-God,  seven  dead  men  ruling  the  universe 
by  concerted  acts.  But  the  stdpa  had  become  a  place 
of  pilgrimage.  Its  tank  could  cure  aches  and  pains. 
And  the  Karma  of  the  dead  saint  could  bring  good 
fortune  to  the  pilgrim  in  the  next  world,  or,  better  still, 
in  this. 

"  The  holy  pilgrimage  to  the  Tirthas,"  says  the  Ma- 
habharata,  "  is  more  important  than  the  sacrifice  to 
the  Gods." 

Plainly  the  Brahmins  soon  saw  this,  and  see  it  still. 
Indian   Rajahs  to  this  day  are  mulcted  of   enormous 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  RISHI         17 

sums  when  they  go  to  the  shrine  of  some  dead  saint 
to  cure  a  beloved  daughter  or  straighten  a  crooked 
leg. 

But  if  these  Seven  Great  Rishis  were  taken  over  by 
the  earliest  Buddhists  and  worshipped  as  the  Seven 
Great  Manushi  Buddhas ;  if,  moreover,  the  outside 
religion  of  early  Buddhism  consisted  almost  entirely 
in  erecting  stupas  in  their  honour  and  feeding  them 
daily  with  food,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  the  early 
Buddhists  would  have  done  such  things  if  they  held 
that  these  Buddhas  were  non-existent,  and  the  spiritual 
world  a  delusion. 

The  religions  of  the  world  are  indebted  to  the  Rishi 
and  his  stUpa  for  other  noticeable  ideas. 

Says  a  clever  Indian  thinker  :  "  No  lower  conception 
than  that  of  an  Absolute  and  Infinite  Divinity  could 
satisfy  indomitable  Reason.  Yet  how  could  such  a 
Being  be  brought  into  relation  with  matter;  and  if 
perfect  goodness  is  one  of  his  Attributes,  whence  then 
came  sin  into  the  world  ?  Into  this  labyrinth  of 
insoluble,  obstinate  questionings  the  professors  of  the 
Divine  Science  plunged  deep.  They  detached  the  act 
of  creation  from  the  Absolute  Being,  whom  they  could 
not  conceive  as  Unconditioned,  yet  acting  upon  matter. 
They  expanded  the  notion  of  the  Divine  Idea  hypos- 
tatised.  They  invented  the  Demi-urge,  or  secondary 
Creative  Agent.  They  bridged  over  the  gulf  between 
the  Intelligible  and  the  Phenomenal  by  various  logical 
formulas,  and  a  series  of  graduated  abstractions.  They 
personified  the  divine  attributes." 1 

This  is  true,  and  again  the  man  on  the  stupa,  fond  of 

1  The  "Theological  Situation  in  India,"  in  the  Fortnightly  for 
November  1898,  by  Vamadeo  Shastri. 


1 8  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

symbols,  seems  to  have  been  at  work.  It  appeared  to 
him  as  it  did  to  every  one  else  in  ancient  days,  that  the 
universe  was  a  large  umbrella,  with  the  mighty  earth 
for  a  basis  and  the  pole  star  for  a  pivot  round  which 
the  umbrella  whirled.  The  interior  of  this  umbrella 
was  lit  up  by  stars  fastened  to  it,  but  outside  was  a 
dark  mysterious  Ocean,  where  the  light  never  pene- 
trated. Within  this  was  placed  the  Unconditioned,  and 
the  man  on  the  sbti/pa  invented  a  Vice-god. 
I  will  condense  a  hymn  of  the  Rig- Veda  : 

"There  was  no  breath,  no  sky,  but  water  only — 

Death  was  not  yet  unwombed,  nor  day  nor  night. 
The  unimagined  THAT  ONE,  veiled  and  lonely, 
Sate  through  the  centuries  devoid  of  light. 

Then  from  his  impulse  Love  came  into  being, 
And  through  the  ebon  blackness  flung  his  beams, 

That  Love  which,  say  our  men  of  mystic  seeing, 
Bridges  the  world  of  fact  and  world  of  dreams. 

0  tell  us  how  this  universe  was  fashioned, 
Ere  shining  gods  appeared  to  men  below  ? — 

He  knows — the  shrouded  THAT  ONE  unimpassioned  ! 
Or  even  he  perchance  can  never  know." 

THAT  ONE  is  Tad  in  Sanskrit ;  Love  is  Kama. 

These  two  portions  of  the  heavens  in  Buddhism,  as 
in  Brahmanism,  are  called  Nirvritti  and  Pravritti. 
Nirvritti  is  derived  from  two  words — Nir,  the  Sanskrit 
privative,  and  vritti,  action  (from  the  root-word  writ, 
to  move).  Nirvritti  is  thus  the  quiescent  portion  of 
the  sky  inhabited  by  Brahma.  And  Brian  Hodgson, 
when  conversing  with  the  intelligent  Buddhist,  Amirta 
Nanda  Bandhya  in  Nepal,  was  astonished  to  find  that 
the    bugaboo    word    Nirvana,    the    terror    of    many 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  RISHI         19 

Christian  treatises,  simply  expressed  the   same   idea  : 
Nir — privative,  vdna — breath. 

"  As  a  man  fond  of  gay  clothing,  throwing  off  a 
corpse  bound  to  his  shoulders,  goes  away  rejoicing,  so 
must  I,  throwing  off  this  perishable  body  and  freed 
from  all  desires,  enter  the  City  of  Nirvana  (Nirvana- 
pura)."  1 

And  when  the  gods  come  to  salute  this  infant 
Buddha  in  the  temple,  these  words  were  a  part  of  their 
hymn  : 

"  Like  the  sun,  the  sea  and  Meru  mount 
Is  Swayambhu,  the  self-existent  God, 
And  all  who  do  him  homage  shall  obtain 
Heaven  and  Nirvritti."2 

In  the  earliest  Buddhism,  Nirvritti  was  the  abode  of 
Brahma.  This  is  what  the  Buddhas  of  the  Past  say  to 
the  young  Buddha  when  they  urge  him  to  forsake  the 
lower  for  the  higher  life  : 

"  Stablish  thy  flock  in  the  way  of  Brahma  and  of  the 
ten  virtues,  that  when  they  pass  away  from  among  their 
fellow-men  they  may  all  go  to  the  abode  of  Brahma."  3 

In  point  of  fact,  Buddha  called  his  followers 
Brahmins,  and  was  a  Brahmin  himself,  though  a 
reforming  one.  And  the  Satapatha  Brahmana  and 
other  Indian  books  used  the  word  Buddha,  it  must  be 
mentioned,  for  the  yogi  who  in  the  silences  of  the 
forest  had  attained  the  great  spiritual  awakening.4 
The  word  Brahma  Nirvana,  or  blissful  union  with 
Brahma,  occurs  several  times  in  the  Mahabharata; 
and  Colebrooke  and  Goldstucker  tell  us  that  in  the 
earliest  days  it  did  not  mean  annihilation  at  all. 

1  Birth  Stories,  p.  6.  2  Lcdita  Viatara.  3  Ibid. 

4  Satapatha  Brdhmana,  xiv.  7.  2.  17.     See  also  Manu,  iv.  204. 


20  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

Now,  oddly  enough,  this  ambition  of  the  poor  Indian 
Rishi  to  solve  the  mighty  mystery  of  the  Uncondi- 
tioned is  the  very  feature  in  his  philosophy  that  Sir 
Monier  Monier- Williams  is  most  angry  with  him 
about. 

"It  is  obvious  that  to  believe  in  the  ultimate 
merging  of  man's  personal  spirit  in  One  Impersonal 
Spirit  is  virtually  to  deny  the  ultimate  existence  of 
any  human  spirit  at  all.  Nay  more,  it  is  virtually  to 
deny  the  existence  of  a  supreme  universal  spirit  also. 
For  how  can  a  merely  abstract  universal  spirit,  which 
is  unconscious  of  personality,  be  regarded  as  possessing 
any  real  existence  worth  being  called  true  life." 1 

But  is  not  this  rather  dangerous  ground  for  an 
author  whose  lectures  are,  almost  avowedly,  less  an 
exposition  of  an  Indian  religion  than  discourses  on  a 
Scotch  form  of  Christianity.  St.  John  tells  us  that 
the  world  was  made  by  Christ  (i.  10),  and  also  that 
"the  Father  judge th  no  man,  but  hath  committed  all 
judgment  to  the  Son  "(v.  22).  We  learn  also  from 
Hebrews  (i.  3)  that  Christ  "upholds"  the  Kosmos. 
Surely  here  we  have  the  active  Logos  and  the  inactive 
(Tertullian  calls  him  the  "invisible,  unapproachable, 
placid")  "Father."  St.  Augustine,  based  his  entire 
Christianity  on  the  text  (John  xiv.  23):  "Jesus 
answered  and  said  unto  him,  If  a  man  love  Me,  he 
will  keep  My  words:  and  My  Father  will  love  him, 
and  We  will  come  unto  him,  and  make  Our  abode 
with  him."  And  there  is  scarcely  a  doubt  now  with 
scholars  that  the  early  Christians  borrowed  the 
solution  of  earth's  mighty  problem  from  India. 
Christianity — at  least  the  Alexandrian  portion  of  it — 
1  Buddhism,  p.  106. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  RISHI         21 

is  gnosticism,  and  gnosticism  is  the  word  Bodhi  trans- 
ferred to  the  Greek.  Buthos,  the  abode  of  the  inactive 
Father,  is  Nirvritti ;  and  the  illuminated  Pleroma, 
presided  over  by  Christ,  is  the  Pravritti  of  the 
Buddhists. 

It  was  the  Father's  good  pleasure  that  in  Him  the 
whole  Pleroma  should  have  its  home  (Col.  i.  19).  In 
Him  dwells  the  whole  Pleroma  of  the  Godhead  in 
bodily  shape  (Col.  ii.  9).1 

To  sum  up,  I  think  in  this  chapter  I  have  shown — 

1.  That  the  religious  cultus  of  India  at  the  date 
of  Buddha's  birth  was  a  sort  of  saint-worship  and 
ghost-worship. 

2.  That  the  first  rude  temple  had  emerged  from  the 
sepulchral  mound  of  the  saint.  This  mound  had 
become  an  observatory,  which  taught  the  proper 
seasons  of  sowing  and  tilling.  It  furnished  great 
tanks  when  water  was  scarce.  It  was  a  beehive  dome 
from  whence  flew  many  religions  and  philosophies. 

3.  That  the  stars,  as  viewed  from  this  dome,  were 
the  early  gods  of  the  earth.  Indeed,  the  Hindoo  lunar 
mansions  were  called  Aditi,  Varuna,  etc. 

4.  That  great  prominence  was  given  to  the  seven 
stars  of  the  Great  Bear.  All  other  stars  seemed  to 
sink  into  the  earth.  Hence  the  legend  of  the  death 
of  the  gods.  But  the  seven  stars  of  the  Bear  were 
viewed  as  the  immortal  homes  of  seven  Wions  of 
spirits,  each  provided  over  by  a  Rishi,  or  saint. 

1  All  that  is  written  in  this  work  combating  the  views  of  Sir  Monier 
Monier- Williams  was  finished  whilst  he  was  still  alive.  If  the  dog- 
matisms of  the  day  prevented  him  from  properly  sympathising  with 
Indian  thought,  it  is  to  be  admitted  that  his  work  as  a  great  Sanskrit 
scholar  has  been  most  valuable. 


22  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

5.  That  trees  also  were  worshipped  "with  incense 
and  garlands," — an  earlier  form  perhaps  of  saint- 
worship,  when  the  saint's  grave  was  under  a  tree  in  a 
forest.     The  seven  mortal  Buddhas  had  each  his  tree. 

6.  That  as  early  as  the  hymns  of  the  Rig- Veda  we 
see  the  idea  of  an  inactive  god  with  a  vice-god,  a  logos, 
a   dead   mortal,  to   do   his   work.     Yama   and   Manu 
figure  thus.     The  latter  in  one  hymn  is  announced  as 
the  creator  of  the  sun.     This  meets,  I  think,  General 
Maisey's  contention  that  Buddhism  was  derived  from 
the  Jews.     The   latter  have   always  hated  the   triad 
conception.     I  think  also  that  it  affects  what  we  may 
call  Pyrrho-Buddha  theories.     A  man  in  rags  going 
about  and  proclaiming,  "  You  come  from  nothing,  my 
brethren ; — you  are  going  back  to  nothing.     Brahma  is 
nothing;   Rama  is  nothing;   Manu,  the  non-existent, 
never  created  a  non-existent  sun.     Nirvritti  is  nothing, 
and  nowhere ;  Pravritti  is  nothing,  and  nowhere ;  the 
Seven  Rishis  are  nothing,  and  nowhere.     Your  sacred 
tanks    have    no    healing   powers.     The   saint's  bones 
under  the  stdpa  can  do  no  good  to  your  rheumatism, 
for   they,  you,  it,  and  I,  are  all  non-existent."     Such 
a  Buddha  would  certainly  have  less  chance  of  being 
listened  to  than  a  Buddha  whose  change  was  a  gentle 
evolution   rather   than   a   root-and-branch   demolition 
and  rebuilding, — one,  in  fact,  who  retained  the  higher 
elements  of  the  previous  religion  and  only  modified 
the  lower. 

For  in  hymns  of  the  Rig- Veda,  said  by  Max  Miiller 

to  have  been  composed  at  least  three  thousand  years 

ao-o,  we  learn  that  the  Rishi  Ribhu  retired  to  a  forest 

to  perform  penance  and  gain  wisdom.1      Yama,  too, 

1  Riff- Veda,  i.  7,  24. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  RISH1         23 

the  Indian  Adam,  we  are  told,  "conversed  with  gods 
under  a  leafy  tree."  Century  after  century  has  rolled 
away,  yet  still  the  Indian  yogi,  clad  in  his  poor 
bark,  squats  on  his  deerskin,  and  calmly  watches 
the  panorama  of  history  pass  on  before  him.  He 
has  seen  the  early  cattle-lifters  and  bowmen  of  the 
Five  Rivers.  He  has  seen  Alexander  clad  in  shining 
mail,  and  Nadir  Shah  smeared  all  over  with  diamonds 
and  blood.  He  has  seen  the  great  noses  and  great 
cocked  hats  of  great  Wellington  and  great  Napier. 
He  has  seen  Asoka  the  tolerant,  Rama  the  loving, 
and  the  great  Tathagata,  Buddha  himself.  Gods  and 
creeds  and  philosophies  he  has  imagined  in  his  mystic 
reverie,  and  scattered  them  broadcast  amongst  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  Calmly  he  squats  on  the  ante- 
lope's skin,  like  John  in  his  raiment  of  camel's  hair. 


CHAPTER  III 

BUDDHA 

Buddha  was  born  at  Kapilavastu,  in  the  Lumbini 
Garden,  B.C.  550. 

Kapilavastu — the  City  of  Kapila.  This  is  the  trans- 
lation of  the  word.  Much  has  been  made  by  some 
Orientalists  of  this.  The  City  of  Kapila,  the  author 
of  the  Niriswara,  or  Atheistic  Sankhya  philosophy,  is 
evidently,  it  has  been  urged,  a  non-existent  place,  and 
Buddha  a  non-existent  person.  He  is  a  myth  invented 
to  shadow  forth  the  dissemination  of  Kapila's  atheism. 
But  nothing  is  certain  except  the  unexpected.  The 
non-existing  city  has  suddenly  turned  up,  covering 
miles  of  jungle. 

Sir  Alexander  Cunningham,  the  great  Indian  archae- 
ologist, was  of  opinion  that  the  site  of  Kapilavastu  was 
Bhuila,  in  the  Basti  district.  But  the  real  site  is  now 
no  matter  of  doubt.  It  is  between  Gorukhpore  and 
the  Himalayas. 

In  1893  a  pillar  was  discovered  in  the  Nepal  Terai, 
the  mighty  forest  that  surrounds  the  great  Himalayan 
range.  Deciphered,  it  proved  to  be  one  of  the  columns 
of  King  A£oka,  who  covered  India  with  his  stone 
inscriptions,  B.C.  257.  It  announced  that  on  this 
particular  spot  was  the  sttipa  of  Kanaka  Muni,  one  of 
the  seven  great  mortal  Buddhas.     In  the  year  1896 

24 


BUDDHA  25 

Major  Waddell  pointed  out,  in  the  Journal  of  the 
Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal,  that,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  Hwen  Thsang,  the  celebrated  Chinese 
traveller,  this  stilpa  was  only  seven  miles  off  from 
Buddha's  birthplace,  the  traveller  having  paid  it  a 
visit.  This  brought  Dr.  Fiihrer  into  the  field,  and 
he  was  soon  rewarded  with  the  discovery  of  an  in- 
scription identifying  the  celebrated  Lumbini  Garden 
where  Queen  Maya  gave  birth  to  her  distinguished 
son.  Then  came  a  second  triumph.  Choked  up  in 
the  luxurious  jungle  by  colossal  ferns  and  creepers 
emerged  a  dead  city  of  stiipas,  and  monasteries,  and 
villages  and  buildings.  More  important  still  was 
another  column  set  up  by  King  Asoka.  This  is  the 
translation  of  it : 

"  King  Piyadasi  (Asoka),  the  beloved  of  the  gods, 
having  been  anointed  twenty  years,  himself  came  and 
worshipped,  saying,  '  Here  Buddha,  Sakya  Muni,  was 
born ! '  And  he  caused  a  stone  pillar  to  be  erected, 
which  declares,  '  Here  the  Venerable  was  born.' " 

I  propose  now  to  give  a  short  life  of  Buddha.  It 
has  curious  points  of  contact  with  that  of  Jesus. 


Pre-Existence  in  Heaven 

The  early  Buddhists,  as  we  have  seen,  following  the 
example  of  the  Vedic  Brahmins,  divided  space  into 
Nirvritti,  the  dark  portion  of  the  heavens,  and 
Pravritti,  the  starry  systems.  Over  this  last,  the 
luminous  portion,  Buddha  figures  as  ruler  when  the 
legendary  life  opens.  The  Christian  Gnostics  took 
over  this  idea  and  gave  to  Christ  a  similar  function. 
He  ruled  the  Pleroma. 


26  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

"Behold  a  Virgin  shall  Conceive" 

Exactly  550  years  before  Christ  there  dwelt  in 
Kapilavastu  a  king  called  Suddhodana.  This 
monarch  was  informed  by  angels  that  a  mighty 
teacher  of  men  would  be  born  miraculously  in  the 
womb  of  his  wife.  "By  the  consent  of  the  king," 
says  the  Lalita  Vistara,  "the  queen  was  permitted 
to  lead  the  life  of  a  virgin  for  thirty-two  months." 
Joseph  is  made,  a  little  awkwardly,  to  give  a  similar 
privilege  to  his  wife  (Matt.  i.  25). 

Some  writers  have  called  in  question  the  statement 
that  Buddha  was  born  of  a  virgin,  but  in  the  southern 
scriptures,  as  given  by  Mr.  Tumour,  it  is  announced 
that  a  womb  in  which  a  Buddha  elect  has  reposed  is 
like  the  sanctuary  of  a  temple.  On  that  account,  that 
her  womb  may  be  sacred,  the  mother  of  a  Buddha 
always  dies  in  seven  days.  The  name  of  the  queen 
was  borrowed  from  Brahminism.  She  was  Maya 
Devi,  the  Queen  of  Heaven.  And  one  of  the  titles  of 
this  lady  is  Kanya,  the  Virgin  of  the  Zodiac. 

Queen  Maya  was  chosen  for  her  mighty  privilege 
because  the  Buddhist  scriptures  announce  that  the 
mother  of  a  Buddha  must  be  of  royal  line. 

Long  genealogies,  very  like  those  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, are  given  also  to  prove  the  blue  blood  of  King 
Suddhodana,  who,  like  Joseph,  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  paternity  of  the  child.  "  King  Mahasammata  had 
a  son  named  Roja,  whose  son  was  Vararoja,  whose  son 
was  Kalyana,  whose  son  was  Varakalyana,"  and  so  on, 
and  so  on.1 

How  does  a  Buddha  come  down  to  earth?     This 

1  Dipawanso,  see  Journ.  As.  Soc,  Bengal,  vol.  vii.  p.  925. 


BUDDHA  27 

question  is  debated  in  Heaven,  and  the  Vedas  were 
searched  because,  as  Seydel  shows,  although  Buddhism 
seemed  a  root  and  branch  change,  it  was  attempted 
to  show  that  it  was  really  the  lofty  side  of  the  old 
Brahminism,  a  lesson  not  lost  by  and  by  in  Palestine. 
The  sign  of  Capricorn  in  the  old  Indian  Zodiac  is  an 
elephant  issuing  from  a  Makara  (leviathan),  and  it 
symbolises  the  active  god  issuing  from  the  quiescent 
god  in  his  home  on  the  face  of  the  waters.  In  con- 
sequence, Buddha  comes  down  as  a  white  elephant, 
and  enters  the  right  side  of  the  queen  without  piercing 
it  or  in  any  way  injuring  it.  Childers  sees  a  great 
analogy  in  all  this  to  the  Catholic  theory  of  the  per- 
petual virginity  of  Mary.  Catholic  doctors  quote  this 
passage  from  Ezekiel  (xliv.  2) : 

"  Then  said  the  Lord  unto  me ;  This  gate  shall  be 
shut,  it  shall  not  be  opened,  and  no  man  shall  enter 
by  it;  because  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel,  hath 
entered  in  by  it,  therefore  shall  it  be  shut." 

A  Double  Annunciation 

It  is  recorded  that  when  Queen  Maya  received  the 
supernal  Buddha  in  her  womb,  in  the  form  of  a 
beautiful  white  elephant,  she  said  to  her  husband: 
"Like  snow  and  silver,  outshining  the  sun  and  the 
moon,  a  white  elephant  of  six  tusks,  with  unrivalled 
trunk  and  feet,  has  entered  my  womb.  Listen,  I 
saw  the  three  regions  (earth,  heaven,  hell),  with  a 
great  light  shining  in  the  darkness,  and  myriads  of 
spirits  sang  my  praises  in  the  sky." 

A  similar  miraculous  communication  was  made  to 
Kinsr  Suddhodana: 


28  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

"The  spirits  of  the  Pare  Abode  flying  in  the  air, 
showed  half  of  their  forms,  and  hymned  King  oud- 
dhodana  thus — 

"  Guerdoned  with  righteousness  and  gentle  pity, 
Adored  on  earth  and  in  the  shining  sky, 
The  coming  Buddha  quits  the  glorious  spheres 
And  hies  to  earth  to  gentle  Maya's  womb." 

In  the  Christian  scriptures  there  is  also  a  double 
annunciation.  In  Luke  (i.  28)  the  angel  Gabriel 
is  said  to  have  appeared  to  the  Virgin  Mary  before 
her  conception,  and  to  have  foretold  to  her  the 
miraculous  birth  of  Christ.  But  in  spite  of  this 
astounding  miracle,  Joseph  seems  to  have  required  a 
second  personal  one  before  he  ceased  to  question  the 
chastity  of  his  wife  (Matt.  i.  19).  Plainly,  two 
evangelists  have  been  working  the  same  mine  in- 
dependently, and  a  want  of  consistency  is  the  result. 

When  Buddha  was  in  his  mother's  womb  that 
womb  was  transparent.  The  Virgin  Mary  was  thus 
represented  in  mediaeval  frescoes.1 

"We  have  seen  his  Star  in  the  East" 

In  the  Buddhist  legend  the  devas  in  heaven 
announce  that  Buddha  will  be  born  when  the 
Flower-star  is  seen  in  the  East.2 

Amongst  the  thirty  -  two  signs  that  indicate  the 
mother  of  a  Buddha,  the  fifth  is  that,  like  Mary  the 
mother  of  Jesus,  she  should  be  "on  a  journey"3  at 
the  moment  of  parturition.     This  happened.     A  tree 

1  See  illustration,  p.  39,  in  my  Buddhism  in  Christendom 

2  Lefman,  xxi.  124  ;  Wassiljew,  p.  95 
s  Beal,  Rom.  History,  p.  32. 


BUDDHA  29 

(palasa,  the  scarlet  butea)  bent  down  its  branches 
and  overshadowed  her,  and  Buddha  came  forth. 
Voltaire  says  that  in  the  library  of  Berne  there  is  a 
copy  of  the  First  Gospel  of  the  Infancy,  which  records 
that  a  palm-tree  bent  down  in  a  similar  manner  to 
Mary.1     The  Koran  calls  it  a  "withered  date-tree." 

In  the  First  Gospel  of  the  Infancy  it  is  stated 
that,  when  Christ  was  in  His  cradle,  He  said  to  His 
mother:  "I  am  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Word 
whom  thou  didst  bring  forth  according  to  the 
declaration  of  the  angel  Gabriel  to  thee,  and  my 
Father  hath  sent  Me  for  the  salvation  of  the  world." 

In  the  Buddhist  scriptures  it  is  announced  that 
Buddha,  on  seeing  the  light  said: 

"I  am  in  my  last  birth.  None  is  my  equal.  I 
have  come  to  conquer  death,  sickness,  old  age.  I 
have  come  to  subdue  the  spirit  of  evil,  and  give 
peace  and  joy  to  the  souls  tormented  in  hell." 

In  the  same  scriptures2  it  is  announced  that  at 
the  birth  of  the  Divine  child,  the  devas  (angels)  in 
the  sky  sang  "their  hymns  and  praises." 

Child-Naming 

"  Five  days  after  the  birth  of  Buddha,"  says  Bishop 
Bigandet,  in  the  Burmese  Life,  "was  performed  the 
ceremony  of  head  ablution  and  naming  the  child" 
(p.  49). 

We   see   from    this   where   the   ceremony   of    head 

ablution  and  naming  the  child  comes  from.     In  the 

Lcd'tta    Vistara,    Buddha    is    carried    to    the   temple. 

Plainly,   we   have    the    same    ceremony.      There    the 

1  CEuvres,  vol.  xl.  2  See  Beal,  Rom.  History,  p.  46. 


3o  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

idols  bow  down  to  him  as  in  the  First  Gospel  of 
the  Infancy  the  idol  in  Egypt  bows  down  to  Jesus. 
In  Luke  the  infant  Jesus  is  also  taken  to  the  temple 
by  his  parents,  to  "do  for  him  after  the  custom  of  the 
law  (Luke  ii.  27).  What  law?  Certainly  not  the 
Jewish. 

Herod  and  the  Wise  Men 

It  is  recorded  in  the  Chinese  life1  that  King 
Bimbisara,  the  monarch  of  Rajagriha,  was  told  by 
his  ministers  that  a  boy  was  alive  for  whom  the  stars 
predicted  a  mighty  destiny.  They  advised  him  to 
raise  an  army  and  go  and  destroy  this  child,  lest  he 
should  one  day  subvert  the  king's  throne.  Bimbisara 
refused. 

At  the  birth  of  Buddha  the  four  Maharajas,  the 
great  Kings,  who  in  Hindoo  astronomy  guard  each  a 
cardinal  point,  received  him.  These  may  throw  light 
on  the  traditional  Persian  kings  that  greeted  Christ. 

In  some  quarters  these  analogies  are  admitted,  but 
it  is  said  that  the  Buddhists  copied  from  the  Christian 
scriptures.  But  this  question  is  a  little  complicated 
by  the  fact  that  many  of  the  most  noticeable 
similarities  are  in  apocryphal  gospels,  those  that  were 
abandoned  by  the  Church  at  an  early  date.  In  the 
Protevangelion,  at  Christ's  birth,  certain  marvels  are 
visible.  The  clouds  are  "astonished,"  and  the  birds 
of  the  air  stop  in  their  flight.  The  dispersed  sheep 
of  some  shepherds  near  cease  to  gambol,  and  the 
shepherds  to  beat  them.  The  kids  near  a  river  are 
arrested  with  their  mouths  close  to  the  water.  All 
nature  seems  to  pause  for  a  mighty  effort.  In  the 
1  Bcal,  Rom.  History,  p.  103. 


BUDDHA  31 

Lalita  Vistara  the  birds  also  pause  in  their  flight 
when  Buddha  conies  to  the  womb  of  Queen  Maya. 
Fires  go  out,  and  rivers  are  suddenly  arrested  in  their 
flow. 

More  noticeable  is  the  story  of  Asita,  the  Indian 
Simeon. 

Asita  dwells  on  Himavat,  the  holy  mount  of  the 
Hindoos,  as  Simeon  dwells  on  Mount  Zion.  The 
"  Holy  Ghost  is  upon "  Simeon.  That  means  that  he 
has  obtained  the  faculties  of  the  prophet  by  mystical 
training.  He  "  comes  by  the  Spirit "  into  the  temple. 
Asita  is  an  ascetic,  who  has  acquired  the  eight  magical 
faculties,  one  of  which  is  the  faculty  of  visiting  the 
Tawatinsa  heavens.  Happening  to  soar  up  into  those 
pure  regions  one  day,  he  is  told  by  a  host  of  devatas, 
or  heavenly  spirits,  that  a  mighty  Buddha  is  born  in 
the  world,  "  who  will  establish  the  supremacy  of  the 
Buddhist  Dharma."  The  Lalita  Vistara  announces 
that,  "looking  abroad  with  his  divine  eye,  and  con- 
sidering the  kingdoms  of  India,  he  saw  in  the  great 
city  of  Kapilavastu,  in  the  palace  of  King  Suddhodana, 
the  child  shining  with  the  glitter  of  pure  deeds,  and 
adored  by  all  the  worlds."  Afar  through  the  skies 
the  spirits  of  heaven  in  crowds  recited  the  "  hymn  of 
Buddha." 

This  is  the  description  of  Simeon  in  the  First  Gospel 
of  the  Infancy,  ii.  6:  "At  that  time  old  Simeon  saw 
Him  (Christ)  shining  as  a  pillar  of  light  when 
St.  Mary  the  Virgin,  His  mother,  carried  Him 
in  her  arms,  and  was  filled  with  the  greatest  plea- 
sure at  the  sight.  And  the  angels  stood  around 
Him,  adoring  Him  as  a  King;  guards  stood  around 
Him." 


32  BUDDHA   AND  BUDDHISM 

Asita  pays  a  visit  to  the  king.  Asita  takes  the 
little  child  in  his  arms.     Asita  weeps. 

"  Wherefore  these  tears,  O  holy  man  ? " 

"  I  weep  because  this  child  will  be  the  great  Buddha, 
and  I  shall  not  be  alive  to  witness  the  fact." 

The  points  of  contact  between  Simeon  and  Asita 
are  very  close.  Both  are  men  of  God,  "full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  Both  are  brought  "  by  the  Spirit "  into 
the  presence  of  the  Holy  Child,  for  the  express 
purpose  of  foretelling  His  destiny  as  the  Anointed 
One. 

More  remarkable  still  is  the  incident  of  the  disputa- 
tion with  the  doctors. 

A  little  Brahmin  was  "  initiated,"  girt  with  the  holy 
thread,  etc.,  at  eight,  and  put  under  the  tuition  of  a 
holy  man.  When  Yisvamitra,  Buddha's  teacher,  pro- 
posed to  teach  him  the  alphabet,  the  young  prince 
went  off: 

"  In  sounding  '  A,'  pronounce  it  as  in  the  sound  of 
the  word  'anitya.' 

"  In  sounding  '  I,'  pronounce  it  as  in  the  word 
'  indriya.' 

"In  sounding  ' U,'  pronounce  it  as  in  the  word 
'  upagupta.' " 

And  so  on  through  the  whole  Sanskrit  alphabet. 

In  the  first  Gospel  of  the  Infancy,  chap,  xx.,  it 
is  recorded  that  when  taken  to  the  schoolmaster 
Zaccheus, 

"  The  Lord  Jesus  explained  to  him  the  meaning  of 
the  letters  Aleph  and  Beth. 

"  8.  Also,  which  were  the  straight  figures  of  the 
letters,  which  were  the  oblique,  and  what  letters  had 
double   figures;    which   had    points   and   which    had 


BUDDHA  33 

none ;  why  one  letter  went  before  another ;  and  many 
other  things  He  began  to  tell  Him  and  explain,  of 
which  the  master  himself  had  never  heard,  nor  read 
in  any  book. 

"  9.  The  Lord  Jesus  further  said  to  the  master, 
Take  notice  how  I  say  to  thee.  Then  He  began 
clearly  and  distinctly  to  say  Aleph,  Beth,  Gimel, 
Daleth,  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  alphabet. 

"  10.  At  this  the  master  was  so  surprised  that  he 
said,  I  believe  this  boy  was  born  before  Noah." 

In  the  Lalita  Vistara  there  are  two  separate 
accounts  of  Buddha  showing  his  marvellous  know- 
ledge. His  great  display  is  when  he  competes  for  his 
wife.  He  then  exhibits  his  familiarity  with  all  lore, 
sacred  and  profane,  "  astronomy,"  the  "  syllogism," 
medicine,  mystic  rites. 

The  disputation  with  the  doctors  is  considerably 
amplified  in  the  21st  chapter  of  the  First  Gospel 
of  the  Infancy: 

"  5.  Then  a  certain  principal  rabbi  asked  Him, 
Hast  Thou  read  books? 

"  6.  Jesus  answered  that  He  had  read  both  books 
and  the  things  which  were  contained  in  books. 

"  7.  And  he  explained  to  them  the  books  of  the  law 
and  precepts  and  statutes,  and  the  mysteries  which 
are  contained  in  the  books  of  the  prophets — things 
which  the  mind  of  no  creature  could  reach. 

"  8.  Then  said  that  rabbi,  I  never  yet  have  seen  or 
heard  of  such  knowledge !  What  do  you  think  that 
boy  will  be  ? 

"  9.  Then   a   certain   astronomer   who   was   present 
asked  the  Lord  Jesus  whether  He  had  studied  astro- 
nomy. 
3 


34  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

"  10.  The  Lord  Jesus  replied,  and  told  hini  the 
number  of  the  spheres  and  heavenly  bodies,  as  also 
their  triangular,  square,  and  sextile  aspects,  their 
progressive  and  retrograde  motions,  their  size  and 
several  prognostications,  and  other  things  which  the 
reason  of  man  had  never  discovered. 

"  11.  There  was  also  among  them  a  philosopher, 
well  skilled  in  physic  and  natural  philosophy,  who 
asked  the  Lord  Jesus  whether  He  had  studied 
physic. 

"  12.  He  replied,  and  explained  to  him  physics  and 
metaphysics. 

"  13.  Also  those  things  which  were  above  and  below 
the  power  of  nature. 

"  14.  The  powers  also  of  the  body,  its  humours  and 
their  effects. 

"  15.  Also  the  number  of  its  bones,  veins,  arteries, 
and  nerves. 

"  16.  The  several  constitutions  of  body,  hot  and  dry, 
cold  and  moist,  and  the  tendencies  of  them. 

"17.  How  the  soul  operated  on  the  body. 

"  18.  What  its  various  sensations  and  faculties 
were. 

"  19.  The  faculty  of  speaking,  anger,  desire. 

"  20.  And  lastly,  the  manner  of  its  composition  and 
dissolution,  and  other  things  which  the  understanding 
of  no  creature  had  ever  reached. 

"21.  Then  that  philosopher  worshipped  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  said,  O  Lord  Jesus,  from  henceforth  I  will 
be  Thy  disciple  and  servant." 

Visvamitra  in  like  manner  worshipped  Buddha  by 
falling  at  his  feet. 


BUDDHA  35 

The  Four  Presaging  Tokens 

Soothsayers  were  consulted  by  King  Suddhodana. 
They  pronounced  the  following: — 

"  The  young  boy  will,  without  doubt,  be  either  a 
king  of  kings  or  a  great  Buddha.  If  he  is  destined 
to  be  a  great  Buddha,  four  presaging  tokens  will  make 
his  mission  plain.     He  will  see — 

"  1.  An  old  man. 

"  2.  A  sick  man. 

"  3.  A  corpse. 

"  4.  A  holy  recluse. 

"  If  he  fails  to  see  these  four  presaging  tokens  of  an 
avatara,  he  will  be  simply  a  Chakravartin "  (king  of 
earthly  kings). 

King  Suddhodana,  who  was  a  trifle  worldly,  was 
very  much  comforted  by  the  last  prediction  of  the 
soothsayers.  He  thought  in  his  heart,  It  will  be  an 
easy  thing  to  keep  these  four  presaging  tokens  from 
the  young  prince.  So  he  gave  orders  that  three 
magnificent  palaces  should  at  once  be  built  —  the 
Palace  of  Spring,  the  Palace  of  Summer,  the  Palace  of 
Winter.  These  palaces,  as  we  learn  from  the  Lalita 
Vistara,  were  the  most  beautiful  palaces  ever  con- 
ceived on  earth.  Indeed,  they  were  quite  able  to  cope 
in  splendour  with  Vaijayanta,  the  immortal  palace  of 
Indra  himself.  Costly  pavilions  were  built  out  in  all 
directions,  with  ornamented  porticoes  and  burnished 
doors.  Turrets  and  pinnacles  soared  into  the  sky. 
Dainty  little  windows  gave  light  to  the  rich  apart- 
ments. Galleries,  balustrades,  and  delicate  trellis- 
work  were  abundant  everywhere.  A  thousand  bells 
tinkled  on  each  roof.     We  seem  to  have  the  lacquered 


36  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

Chinese  edifices  of  the  pattern  which  architects  believe 
to  have  flourished  in  early  India.  The  gardens  of 
these  fine  palaces  rivalled  the  chess-board  in  the  rect- 
angular exactitude  of  their  parterres  and  trellis-work 
bowers.  Cool  lakes  nursed  on  their  calm  bosoms 
storks  and  cranes,  wild  geese  and  tame  swans ;  ducks, 
also,  as  parti-coloured  as  the  white,  red,  and  blue 
lotuses  amongst  which  they  swam.  Bending  to  these 
lakes  were  bowery  trees  —  the  champak,  the  acacia 
serisha,  and  the  beautiful  asoka  tree  with  its  orange- 
scarlet  flowers.  Above  rustled  the  mimosa,  the  fan- 
palm,  and  the  feathery  pippala,  Buddha's  tree.  The 
air  was  heavy  with  the  strong  scent  of  the  tuberose 
and  the  Arabian  jasmine. 

It  must  be  mentioned  that  strong  ramparts  were 
prepared  round  the  palaces  of  Kapilavastu,  to  keep 
out  all  old  men,  sick  men,  and  recluses,  and,  I  must 
add,  to  keep  in  the  prince. 

And  a  more  potent  safeguard  still  was  designed. 
When  the  prince  was  old  enough  to  marry,  his 
palace  was  deluged  with  beautiful  women.  He 
revelled  in  the  "  five  dusts,"  as  the  Chinese  version 
puts  it.  But  a  shock  was  preparing  for  King  Sud- 
dhodana. 

This  is  how  the  matter  came  about.  The  king  had 
prepared  a  garden  even  more  beautiful  than  the 
garden  of  the  Palace  of  Summer.  A  soothsayer  had 
told  him  that  if  he  could  succeed  in  showing  the 
prince  this  garden,  the  prince  would  be  content  to 
remain  in  it  with  his  wives  for  ever.  No  task  seemed 
easier  than  this,  so  it  was  arranged  that  on  a  certain 
day  the  prince  should  be  driven  thither  in  his  chariot. 
But,  of  course,  immense  precautions  had  to  be  taken 


BUDDHA  37 

to  keep  all  old  men  and  sick  men  and  corpses  from 
his  sight.  Quite  an  army  of  soldiers  were  told  off  for 
this  duty,  and  the  city  was  decked  with  flags.  The 
path  of  the  prince  was  strewn  with  flowers  and  scents, 
and  adorned  with  vases  of  the  rich  kadali  plant. 
Above  were  costly  hangings  and  garlands,  and 
pagodas  of  bells. 

But,  lo  and  behold  !  as  the  prince  was  driving  along, 
plump  under  the  wheels  of  his  chariot,  and  before  the 
very  noses  of  the  silken  nobles  and  the  warriors  with 
javelins  and  shields,  he  saw  an  unusual  sight.  This 
was  an  old  man,  very  decrepit  and  very  broken. 
The  veins  and  nerves  of  his  body  were  swollen  and 
prominent;  his  teeth  chattered;  he  was  wrinkled, 
bald,  and  his  few  remaining  hairs  were  of  dazzling 
whiteness;  he  was  bent  very  nearly  double,  and 
tottered  feebly  along,  supported  by  a  stick. 

"  What  is  this,  O  coachman  ? "  said  the  prince. 
"  A  man  with  his  blood  all  dried  up,  and  his  muscles 
glued  to  his  body !  His  head  is  white ;  his  teeth 
knock  together;  he  is  scarcely  able  to  move  along, 
even  with  the  aid  of  that  stick  ! " 

"  Prince,"  said  the  coachman,  "  this  is  Old  Age. 
This  man's  senses  are  dulled  ;  suffering  has  destroyed 
his  spirit;  he  is  contemned  by  his  neighbours.  Un- 
able to  help  himself,  he  has  been  abandoned  in  this 
forest." 

"  Is  this  a  peculiarity  of  his  family  ? "  demanded 
the  prince,  "  or  is  it  the  law  of  the  world  ?  Tell  me 
quickly." 

"  Prince,"  said  the  coachman,  "  it  is  neither  a  law  of 
his  family,  nor  a  law  of  the  kingdom.  In  every 
being  youth  is  conquered  by  age.     Your  own  father 


38  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

and  mother  and  all  your  relations  will  end  in  old  age. 
There  is  no  other  issue  to  humanity." 

"  Then  youth  is  blind  and  ignorant,"  said  the  prince, 
"  and  sees  not  the  future.  It'  this  body  is  to  be  the 
abode  of  old  age,  what  have  I  to  do  with  pleasure 
and  its  intoxications  ?  Turn  round  the  chariot,  and 
drive  me  back  to  the  palace  ! " 

Consternation  was  in  the  minds  of  all  the  courtiers 
at  this  untoward  occurrence;  but  the  odd  circum- 
stance of  all  was  that  no  one  was  ever  able  to  bring 
to  condign  punishment  the  miserable  author  of  the 
mischief.     The  old  man  could  never  be  found. 

King  Suddhodana  was  at  first  quite  beside  himself 
with  tribulation.  Soldiers  were  summoned  from  the 
distant  provinces,  and  a  cordon  of  detachments 
thrown  out  to  a  distance  of  four  miles  in  each 
direction,  to  keep  the  other  presaging  tokens  from 
the  prince.  By  and  by  the  king  became  a  little 
more  quieted.  A  ridiculous  accident  had  interfered 
with  his  plans :  "  If  my  son  could  see  the  Garden  of 
Happiness  he  never  would  become  a  hermit."  The 
king  determined  that  another  attempt  should  be 
made.     But  this  time  the  precautions  were  doubled. 

On  the  first  occasion  the  prince  left  the  Palace  of 
Summer  by  the  eastern  gate.  The  second  expedition 
went  through  the  southern  gate. 

But  another  untoward  event  occurred.  As  the 
prince  was  driving  along  in  his  chariot,  suddenly  he 
saw  close  to  him  a  man  emaciated,  ill,  loathsome, 
burning  with  fever.  Companionless,  uncared  for,  he 
tottered  along,  breathing  with  extreme  difficulty. 

"  Coachman,"  said  the  prince,  "  what  is  this  man, 
livid  and  loathsome  in  body,  whose  senses  are  dulled, 


BUDDHA  39 

and  whose  limbs  are  withered  ?  His  stomach  is 
oppressing  him ;  he  is  covered  with  filth.  Scarcely 
can  he  draw  the  breath  of  life  !  " 

"  Prince/'  said  the  coachman,  "  this  is  Sickness. 
This  poor  man  is  attacked  with  a  grievous  malady. 
Strength  and  Comfort  have  shunned  him.  He  is 
friendless,  hopeless,  without  a  country,  without  an 
asylum.     The  fear  of  death  is  before  his  eyes." 

"If  the  health  of  man,"  said  Buddha,  "is  but  the 
sport  of  a  dream,  and  the  fear  of  coming  evils  can 
put  on  so  loathsome  a  shape,  how  can  the  wise  man, 
who  has  seen  what  life  really  means,  indulge  in  its 
vain  delights  ?  Turn  back,  coachman,  and  drive  me 
to  the  palace  ! " 

The  angry  king,  when  he  heard  what  had  occurred, 
gave  orders  that  the  sick  man  should  be  seized  and 
punished,  but  although  a  price  was  placed  on  his  head, 
and  he  was  searched  for  far  and  wide,  he  could  never 
be  caught.  A  clue  to  this  is  furnished  by  a  passage 
in  the  Lalita  Vistara.  The  sick  man  was  in  reality 
one  of  the  Spirits  of  the  Pure  Abode,  masquerading  in 
sores  and  spasms.  These  Spirits  of  the  Pure  Abode 
are  also  called  the  Buddhas  of  the  Past  in  many 
passages,  as  I  shall  shortly  show. 

Dr.  Rhys  Davids,  in  his  translation  of  the  Life  of 
Buddha,  calls  them  vaguely  "  angels,"  "  fairies,"  etc. ; 
but  the  whole  question  of  early  Buddhism  is  really 
bound  up  in  the  matter.  In  the  Southern  scriptures 
it  is  explained  that  the  Spirits  of  the  Pure  Abode 
dwell  in  the  heaven  of  Brahma.1  I  may  mention  too, 
that  in  a  valuable  inscription,  copied  from  an  old 
column  in  the  island  of  Ceylon  by  Dr.  Rhys  Davids 
1  Tumour,  Journ.  Beng.  As.  JSoc.  vol.  vii.  p.  798. 


40  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

himself,  it  is  announced  that  in  the  reign  of  the  king 
who  erected  it,  the  Buddha  devatas  "talked  with 
men  " 1  in  the  great  temple.  Here  we  have  plainly  the 
Buddhas  of  the  past,  of  the  Lalita  Vistara.  The 
disciples  of  the  "  Carriage  which  drives  to  the  Great 
Nowhere  "  have  senselessly  interlarded  this  book  with 
certain  "  Bodhisatwas  of  the  Ten  Regions,"  which, 
figuring  side  by  side  with  the  "  Buddhas  of  the  Ten 
Regions,"  confess  the  cheat.  When  the  "  Great 
Vehicle"  movement  dethroned  the  Buddhas  of  the 
past,  it  substituted  Bodhisatwas  (mortals  who  have 
reached  the  last  stage  of  the  metempsychosis),  and 
transferred  the  old  saint-worship,  the  sacrifices,  pro- 
cessions, relic  expositions,  etc.,  to  them. 

For  another  valuable  fact  we  are  indebted  to  the 
Southern  scriptures.  They  announce  that  the  answers 
of  the  charioteer  were  given  under  inspiration  from  the 
unseen  world.2  On  the  surface  this  is  plausible,  for 
we  shall  see  that  the  speeches  of  the  charioteer  were 
not  always  pitched  in  so  high  a  key. 

And  it  would  almost  seem  as  if  some  influence, 
malefic  or  otherwise,  was  stirring  the  good  King  Sud- 
dhodana.  Unmoved  by  failure,  he  urged  the  prince  to 
a  third  effort.  The  chariot  this  time  was  to  set  out  by 
the  western  gate.  Greater  precautions  than  ever  were 
adopted.  The  chain  of  guards  was  posted  at  least 
twelve  miles  off  from  the  Palace  of  Summer.  But 
the  Buddhas  of  the  Ten  Horizons  again  arrested  the 
prince.  His  chariot  was  suddenly  crossed  by  a  phan- 
tom funeral  procession.  A  phantom  corpse,  smeared 
with  the  orthodox  mud,  and  spread  with  a  sheet,  was 

1  Journ.  As.  Soc.  vol.  vii.  p.  364. 

2  Spence  Hardy,  Manual,  p.  157. 


BUDDHA  41 

carried  on  a  bier.  Phantom  women  wailed,  and  phan- 
tom musicians  played  on  the  drum  and  the  Indian 
flute.  No  doubt  also,  phantom  Brahmins  chanted 
hymns  to  Jatavedas,  to  bear  away  the  immortal  part 
of  the  dead  man  to  the  home  of  the  Pitris. 

"What  is  this?"  said  the  prince.  "Why  do  these 
women  beat  their  breasts  and  tear  their  hair  ?  Why 
do  these  good  folks  cover  their  heads  with  the  dust  of 
the  ground.  And  that  strange  form  upon  jts  litter, 
wherefore  is  it  so  rigid  ? " 

"  Prince,"  said  the  charioteer,  "  this  is  Death  !  Yon 
form,  pale  and  stiffened,  can  never  again  walk  and 
move.  Its  owner  has  gone  to  the  unknown  caverns  of 
Yama.  His  father,  his  mother,  his  child,  his  wife  cry 
out  to  him,  but  he  cannot  hear." 

Buddha  was  sad. 

"  Woe  be  to  youth,  which  is  the  sport  of  age !  Woe 
be  to  health,  which  is  the  sport  of  many  maladies ! 
Woe  be  to  life,  which  is  as  a  breath !  Woe  be  to  the 
idle  pleasures  which  debauch  humanity  !  But  for  the 
'five  aggregations'  there  would  be  no  age,  sickness, 
nor  death.  Go  back  to  the  city.  I  must  compass 
the  deliverance." 

A  fourth  time  the  prince  was  urged  by  his  father 
to  visit  the  Garden  of  Happiness.  The  chain  of 
guards  this  time  was  sixteen  miles  away.  The  exit 
was  by  the  northern  gate.  But  suddenly  a  calm  man 
of  gentle  mien,  wearing  an  ochre-red  cowl,  was  seen 
in  the  roadway. 

"  Who  is  this,"  said  the  prince,  "rapt,  gentle,  peaceful 
in  mien  ?  He  looks  as  if  his  mind  were  far  away  else- 
where.    He  carries  a  bowl  in  his  hand." 

"  Prince,  this  is  the  New  Life,"  said  the  charioteer. 


42  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

"That  man  is  of  those  whose  thoughts  are  fixed  on 
the  eternal  Brahma  [Brahmacharin].  He  seeks  the 
divine  voice.  He  seeks  the  divine  vision.  He  carries 
the  alms-bowl  of  the  holy  beggar  [bhikshu].  His 
mind  is  calm  because  the  gross  lures  of  the  lower  life 
can  vex  it  no  more." 

"  Such  a  life  I  covet,"  said  the  prince.  "  The  lusts 
of  man  are  like  the  sea-water — they  mock  man's  thirst 
instead  of  quenching  it.  I  will  seek  the  divine  vision, 
and  give  immortality  to  man  !  " 

In  the  Lalita  Vistara  the  remedy  for  age,  sickness, 
and  death  is  immortality.1  In  Dr.  Rhys  Davids' 
Buddhism  the  remedy  for  death"  is  death.  If  the 
apologue  was  composed  outside  of  Bedlam,  it  is 
plain  that  the  Lalita  Vistara  gives  us  the  correct 
version.  If  a  prick  with  a  dagger  is  the  amrita,  why 
go  through  all  the  tortures  of  yoga  to  gain  it  ? 

King  Suddhodana  was  beside  himself.  He  placed 
five  hundred  corseleted  &akyas  at  every  gate  of  the 
Palace  of  Summer.  Chains  of  sentries  were  round 
the  walls,  which  were  raised  and  strengthened.  A 
phalanx  of  loving  wives,  armed  with  javelins,  was 
posted  round  the  prince's  bed  to  "  narrowly  watch " 
him.  The  king  ordered  also  all  the  allurements  of 
sense  to  be  constantly  presented  to  the  prince. 

"Let  the  women  of  the  zenana  cease  not  for  an 
instant  their  concerts  and  mirth  and  sports.  Let  them 
shine  in  silks  and  sparkle  in  diamonds  and  emeralds." 

Maha  Prajapati,  the  aunt  who  since  Queen  Maya's 
death  has  acted  as  foster-mother,  has  charge  of  these 
pretty  young  women,  and  she  incites  them  to  encircle 
the  prince  in  a  "  cage  of  gold." 

1  "Un  fruit  de  vie,  de  bien  etre,  et  d'immortalite  "  (Foucaux,  p.  185). 


BUDDHA  43 

The  allegory  is  in  reality  a  great  battle  between 
two  camps — the  denizens  of  the  Kauialoca,  or  the 
Domains  of  Appetite,  and  the  denizens  of  the  Brah- 
maloca,  the  Domains  of  pure  Spirit.  The  latter  are 
unseen,  but  not  unfelt. 

For  one  day,  when  the  prince  reclined  on  a  silken 
couch  listening  to  the  sweet  crooning  of  four  or  five 
brown-skinned,  large-eyed  Indian  girls,  his  eyes  sud- 
denly assumed  a  dazed  and  absorbed  look,  and  the 
rich  hangings  and  garlands  and  intricate  trellis-work 
of  the  golden  apartment  were  still  present,  but  dim 
to  his  mind.  And  music  and  voices,  more  sweet 
than  he  had  ever  listened  to,  seemed  faintly  to 
reach  him.  I  will  write  down  some  of  the  verses 
he  heard,  as  they  contain  the  mystic  inner  teaching  of 
Buddhism. 

'Mighty  prop  of  humanity 

March  in  the  pathway  of  the  Rishis  of  old, 

Go  forth  from  this  city  ! 

Upon  this  desolate  earth, 

When  thou  hast  acquired  the  priceless  knowledge  of  the  Jinas, 

When  thou  hast  become  a  perfect  Buddha, 

Give  to  all  flesh  the  baptism  (river)  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Righteousness. 

Thou  who  once  didst  sacrifice  thy  feet,  thy  hands,  thy  pre- 
cious body,  and  all  thy  riches  for  the  world, 

Thou  whose  life  is  pure,  save  flesh  from  its  miseries ! 

In  the  presence  of  reviling  be  patient,  0  conqueror  of  self ! 

Lord  of  those  who  possess  two  feet,  go  forth  on  thy  mission! 

Conquer  the  evil  one  and  his  army." 

Thus  run  some  more  of  these  gathas  : — 

11  Light  of  the  world  !  [lamp  du  monde — Foucaux], 
In  former  kalpas  this  vow  was  made  by  thee  : 
'For  the  worlds  that  are  a  prey  to  death  and  sickness  I  will 
be  a  refuge  ! ' 


44  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

Lion   of  men,   master  of  those   that  walk    on  two   feet,   the 

time  for  thy  mission  has  come  ! 
Under  the  sacred  Bo-tree  acquire  immortal  dignity,  and  give 

Amrita  (immortality)  to  all ! 
When  thou  wert  a  king  (in  a  former  existence),  and  a  subject 

insolently   said   to   thee:     'These   lands   and    cities,    give 

them  to  me  ! ' 
Thou  wert  rejoiced  and  not  troubled. 
Once  when  thou   wert  a  virtuous   Eishi,  and  a  cruel  king  in 

anger   hacked    off  thy   limbs,   in   thy   death  agony   milk 

flowed  from  thy  feet  and  thy  hands. 
When  thou  didst  dwell  on  a  mountain  as  the  Rishi  Syama,  a 

king  having  transfixed  thee   with  poisoned  arrows,  didst 

thou  not  forgive  this  king? 
When  thou  wert  the  king  of  antelopes,  didst  thou  not  save 

thine  enemy  the  hunter  from  a  torrent? 
When  thou  wert  an  elephant  and  a  hunter  pierced  thee,  thou 

forgavest  him,  and   didst  reward  him  with  thy  beautiful 

tusks ! 
Once  when  thou  wert  a  she-bear  thou  didst  save  a  man  from 

a  torrent  swollen  with   snow.      Thou  didst  feed  him  on 

roots  and  fruit  until  he  grew  strong ; 
And  when  he  went  away  and  brought  back  men  to  kill  thee, 

thou  forgavest  him  ! 
Once  when  thou  wert  the  white  horse,1 
In  pity  for  the  suffering  of  man, 

Thou  didst  fly  across  heaven  to  the  region  of  the  evil  demons, 
To  secure  the  happiness  of  mankind. 
Persecutions  without  end, 
Revilings  and  many  prisons, 
Death  and  murder, 

These  hast  thou  suffered  with  love  and  patience, 
Forgiving  thine  executioners. 
Kingless,  men  seek  thee  for  a  king ! 

Stablish  them  in  the  way  of  Brahma  and  of  the  ten  virtues, 
That  when  they  pass  away  from  amongst  their  fellow-men, 

they  may  all  go  to  the  abode  of  Brahma." 

1  Yearly  the  sun-god  as  the  zodiacal  horse  (Aries)  was  supposed  by 
the  Vedic  Aryans  to  die  to  save  all  flesh.     Hence  the  horse-sacrifice. 


BUDDHA  45 

"  By  these  gathas  the  prince  is  exhorted,"  says  the 
narrative.  And  whilst  the  Jinas  sing,  beautiful  women, 
with  flowers  and  perfumes,  and  jewels  and  rich  dresses, 
try  to  incite  him  to  mortal  love. 

But  to  bring  about  their  plans  more  quickly,  the 
Spirits  of  the  Pure  Abode  have  conceived  a  new 
project.  The  beautiful  women  of  the  zenana  are  the 
main  seductions  of  Mara,  the  tempter,  whom  philo- 
logists prove  to  be  closely  connected  with  Kama,  the 
god  of  love.  The  Spirits  of  the  Pure  Abode  determine 
that  the  prince  shall  see  these  women  in  a  new  light. 
By  a  subtle  influence  they  induce  him  to  visit  the 
apartments  of  the  women  at  the  moment  that  they, 
the  Jinas,  have  put  all  these  women  into  a  sound 
sleep. 

Everything  is  in  disorder  —  the  clothes  of  the 
women,  their  hair,  their  trinkets.  Some  are  lolling 
ungracefully  on  couches,  some  have  hideous  faces, 
some  cough,  some  laugh  sillily  in  their  dreams,  some 
rave.  Also  deformities  and  blemishes  that  female 
art  had  been  careful  to  conceal  are  now  made  pro- 
minent by  the  superior  magic  of  the  spirits.  This 
one  has  a  discoloured  neck,  this  one  an  ill-formed  leg, 
this  one  a  clumsy  fat  arm.  Smiles  have  become 
grins,  and  fascinations  a  naked  hideousness.  Sprawl- 
ing on  couches  in  ungainly  attitudes,  all  lie  amidst 
their  tawdry  finery,  their  silent  tambourines  and  lutes. 

"  Of  a  verity  I  am  in  a  graveyard  ! "  said  the  prince 
in  great  disgust. 

And  now  comes  an  incident  which  is  odd  in  the  life 
of  a  professed  atheist.  Buddha  has  determined  to 
leave  the  palace  altogether.  "Then  he  (Buddha) 
uncrossed  his  legs,  and  turning  his  eyes  towards  the 


46  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

eastern  horizon,  he  put  aside  the  precious  trellis-work 
and  repaired  to  the  roof  of  the  palace.  Then  joining 
the  ten  fingers  of  his  hands,  he  thought  of  all  the 
Bucldhas  and  rendered  homage  to  all  the  Buddhas,  and, 
looking  across  the  skies,  he  saw  the  Master  of  all  the 
gods,  he  of  the  ten  hundred  eyes  [Dasasata  Nayana]." 
Plainly  he  prayed  to  Indra.  The  Romantic  Life  also 
retains  this  incident,  but  it  omits  Indra,  and  makes 
Buddha  pray  only  to  all  the  Buddhas. 

At  the  moment  that  Buddha  joined  his  hands  in 
homage  towards  the  eastern  horizon,  the  star  Pushya, 
which  had  presided  at  his  birth,  was  rising.  The 
prince  on  seeing  it  said  to  Chanclaka : 

"The  benediction  that  is  on  me  has  attained  its 
perfection  this  very  night.  Give  me  at  once  the  king 
of  horses  covered  with  jewels  ! " 

The  highest  spiritual  philosophers  in  Buddhism,  in 
Brahminism,  in  Christendom,  in  Islam,  announce  two 
kingdoms  distinct  from  one  another.  They  are  called 
in  India  the  Domain  of  Appetite  (Kamaloca),  and  the 
Domain  of  Spirit  (Brahmaloca).  The  Lalita  Vistara 
throughout  describes  a  conflict  between  these  two 
great  camps.  Buddha  is  offered  a  crown  by  his  father. 
He  has  wives,  palaces,  jewels,  but  he  leaves  all  for  the 
thorny  jungle  where  the  Brahmacharin  dreamt  his 
dreams  of  God.  This  is  called  pessimism  by  some 
writers,  who  urge  that  we  should  enjoy  life  as  we  find 
it,  but  modern  Europe  having  tried,  denies  that  life  is 
so  enjoyable.  Its  motto  is  Tout  lasse,  tout  casse,  tout 
passe.  Yes,  say  the  optimists,  but  we  needn't  all  live 
a  life  like  Jay  Gould.  A  good  son,  a  good  father,  a 
good  husband,  a  good  citizen,  is  happy  enough.  True, 
reply  the  pessimists,  in  so  far  as  a  mortal  enters  the 


BUDDHA  47 

domain  of  spirit  he  may  be  happy,  for  that  is  not  a 
region  but  a  state  of  the  mind.  But  mundane  acci- 
dents seem,  almost  by  rule,  to  mar  even  that  happi- 
ness. The  husband  loses  his  loved  one,  the  artist  his 
eyesight.  Philosophers  and  statesmen  find  their  great 
dreams  and  schemes  baffled  by  the  infirmities  of  age. 

Age,  disease,  death  !  These  are  the  evils  for  which 
the  great  Indian  allegory  proposes  to  find  a  remedy. 

The  Buddhas  of  the  Past  win  the  victory  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  King  Suddhodana  offers  to  resign  the 
crown  to  his  son  if  he  will  abandon  the  idea  of  a 
religious  life.  Buddha  steals  away  one  night  on  his 
horse  Kantaka  and  enlists  as  a  disciple  of  a  Brahmin 
named  Arata  Kalama.  But  by  and  by,  becoming 
dissatisfied  with  his  teacher,  he  retires  to  the  silences  of 
Buddha  Gaya  and  the  famous  Bo-tree.  There  occurs 
his  celebrated  conflict  with  Mara,  the  Buddhist  Satan, 
who  comes  in  person  to  tempt  him.  Two  of  the 
temptations  are  precisely  similar  to  those  of  Jesus. 
Buddha  is  said  to  have  gone  through  a  forty-nine 
days'  fast,  and  the  first  temptation  appeals  to  his 
hunger.  For  the  second  he  is  transported  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  splendid  city  of  Kapilavastu, 
which  is  made  to  revolve,  like  the  "  wheel  of  a  potter," 
and  display  its  magnificence.1  The  third  temptation 
introduces  a  prominent  feature  in  a  fasting  ascetic's 
visions.  Beautiful  females,  the  daughters  of  Mara, 
come  round  him.  But  Buddha  triumphs  over  them, 
and  triumphs  over  their  father,  and  by  and  by 
baptizes  both. 

For  six  years  the   ascetic  sate  under  his  Tree   of 
Knowledge,  the  pippala,  or   Ficus   religiosa.      Then 

1  Bigandet's  Life  of  Buddha,  p.  65. 


48  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

Brahma  urges  him  to  go  and  preach  the  Brahma- 
chary  a,  the  Knowledge  of  Brahma.  It  is  called  also 
the  Glad  Tidings,  Subhashita.1  He  goes  off  to  the 
celebrated  deer  forest  of  Benares  and  begins  to  make 
converts,  using  the  actual  words  of  Christ,  "  Follow 
Me  ! " 

1  On  this  point  see  Rajendra  L.  Mitra,  Northern  Buddhist  Literature, 
p.  29. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  "WISDOM  OF  THE  OTHEE  BANK" 

If  the  Roman  Catholics  were  told  that  St.  Francois 
cle  Salis,  or  St.  Jerome,  "  altogether  ignored  in  nature 
any  spiritual  aspirations/'1  they  would  feel  a  little 
astonished.  This  is  the  view  taken  of  Buddha  by 
the  Boden  Professor  of  Sanskrit  at  Oxford.  And  yet 
the  word  "Buddha"  means,  he  who  has  attained  the 
complete  spiritual  awakening.  And  Buddha's  Dharma 
has  for  an  alternative  exponent  the  words  Prajnd 
Pdramitd  (the  Wisdom  of  the  Other  Bank). 

There  are  two  states  of  the  soul,  call  them  ego  and 
non-ego — the  plane  of  matter  and  the  plane  of  spirit, — 
what  you  will.  As  long  as  we  live  for  the  ego  and 
its  greedy  joys,  we  are  feverish,  restless,  miserable. 
Happiness  consists  in  the  destruction  of  the  ego  by 
the  Bodhi,  or  Gnosis.  This  is  that  interior,  that  high 
state  of  the  soul,  attained  by  Fenelon  and  Wesley,  by 
Mirza  the  Sufi  and  Swedenborg,  by  Spinoza  and  Amiel. 

"  The  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you,"  says  Christ. 

"In  whom  are  hid  the  treasures  of  sophia  and 
gnosis"  says  St.  Paul. 

"  The  enlightened  view  both  worlds,"  says  Mirza  the 
Sufi,  "  but  the  bat  flieth  about  in  the  darkness  without 
seeing." 

1  Sir  Monier  Monier-Williams,  Buddhism,  p.  149. 
4 


50  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

"Who  speaks  and  acts  with  the  inner  quickening," 
says  Buddha,  "  has  joy  for  his  accompanying  shadow. 
Who  speaks  and  acts  without  the  inner  quickening, 
him  sorrow  pursues  as  the  chariot-wheel  the  horse." 

Let  us  give  here  a  pretty  parable,  and  let  Buddha 
speak  for  himself  : 

"  Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  man  born  blind,  and 
he  said,  '  I  cannot  believe  in  a  world  of  appearances. 
Colours  bright  or  sombre  exist  not.  There  is  no  sun, 
no  moon,  no  stars.  None  have  witnessed  such  things.' 
His  friends  chid  him ;  but  he  still  repeated  the  same 
words. 

"In  those  days  there  was  a  Rishi  who  had  the 
inner  vision;  and  he  detected  on  the  steeps  of  the 
lofty  Himalayas  four  simples  that  had  the  power  to 
cure  the  man  who  was  born  blind.  He  culled  them, 
and,  mashing  them  with  his  teeth,  applied  them. 
Instantly  the  man  who  was  born  blind  cried  out,  'I 
see  colours  and  appearances.  I  see  beautiful  trees  and 
flowers.  I  see  the  bright  sun.  No  one  ever  saw  like 
this  before.' 

"  Then  certain  holy  men  came  to  the  man  who  was 
born  blind,  and  said  to  him,  'You  are  vain  and 
arrogant,  and  nearly  as  blind  as  you  were  before. 
You  see  the  outside  of  things,  not  the  inside.  One 
whose  supernatural  senses  are  quickened  sees  the 
lapis-lazuli  fields  of  the  Buddhas  of  the  Past,  and 
hears  heavenly  conch  shells  sounded  at  a  distance  of 
five  yoganas.  Go  off  to  a  desert,  a  forest,  a  cavern  in 
the  mountains,  and  conquer  this  mean  thirst  of  earthly 
things.' " 

The  man  who  was  born  blind  obeyed;  and  the 
parable  ends  with  its  obvious  interpretation.     Buddha 


"WISDOM  OF  THE  OTHER  BANK"      51 

is  the  old  Rishi,  and  the  four  simples  are  the  four 
great  truths.  He  weans  mankind  from  the  lower  life 
and  opens  the  eyes  of  the  blind. 

I  think  that  Sir  Monier  Monier- Williams'  fancy, 
that  Buddha  ignored  the  spiritual  side  of  humanity,  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  by  the  word  "  knowledge  "  he  con- 
ceives the  Buddhists  to  mean  knowledge  of  material 
facts.  That  Buddha's  conceptions  are  nearer  to  the 
ideas  of  Swedenborg  than  of  Mill  is,  I  think,  proved 
by  the  Cingalese  book,  the  Samanna  Phala  Sutta. 
Buddha  details,  at  considerable  length,  the  practices  of 
the  ascetic,  and  then  enlarges  upon  their  exact  object. 
Man  has  a  body  composed  of  the  four  elements.  It  is 
the  fruit  of  the  union  of  his  father  and  mother.  It  is 
nourished  on  rice  and  gruel,  and  may  be  truncated, 
crushed,  destroyed.  In  this  transitory  body  his  in- 
telligence is  enchained.  The  ascetic,  finding  himself 
thus  confined,  directs  his  mind  to  the  creation  of  a 
freer  integument.  He  represents  to  himself  in  thought 
another  body  created  from  this  material  body — a  body 
with  a  form,  members,  and  organs.  This  body,  in 
relation  to  the  material  body,  is  like  the  sword  and 
the  scabbard,  or  a  serpent  issuing  from  a  basket  in 
which  it  is  confined.  The  ascetic,  then,  purified  and 
perfected,  commences  to  practise  supernatural  facul- 
ties. He  finds  himself  able  to  pass  through  material 
obstacles,  walls,  ramparts,  etc. ;  he  is  able  to  throw  his 
phantasmal  appearance  into  many  places  at  once ;  he 
is  able  to  walk  upon  the  surface  of  water  without 
immersing  himself ;  he  can  fly  through  the  air  like  a 
falcon  furnished  with  large  wings;  he  can  leave  this 
world  and  reach  even  the  heaven  of  Brahma  himself. 

Another  faculty  is  now  conquered  by  his  force  of 


52  BUDDHA   AND  BUDDHISM 

will,  as  the  fashioner  of  ivory  shapes  the  tusk  of  the 
elephant  according  to  his  fancy.  He  acquires  the 
power  of  hearing  the  sounds  of  the  unseen  world  as 
distinctly  as  those  of  the  phenomenal  world — more 
distinctly,  in  point  of  fact.  Also  by  the  power  of 
Manas  he  is  able  to  read  the  most  secret  thoughts  of 
others,  and  to  tell  their  characters.  He  is  able  to  say, 
"  There  is  a  mind  that  is  governed  by  passion.  There 
is  a  mind  that  is  enfranchised.  This  man  has  noble 
ends  in  view.  This  man  has  no  ends  in  view."  As  a 
child  sees  his  earrings  reflected  in  the  water,  and  says, 
"  Those  are  my  earrings,"  so  the  purified  ascetic  re- 
cognises the  truth.  Then  comes  to  him  the  faculty  of 
"  divine  vision,"  and  he  sees  all  that  men  do  on  earth 
and  after  they  die,  and  when  they  are  again  reborn. 
Then  he  detects  the  secrets  of  the  universe,  and  why 
men  are  unhappy,  and  how  they  may  cease  to  be  so. 

I  will  now  quote  a  conversation  between  Buddha 
and  some  Brahmins  which,  I  think,  throws  much  light 
on  his  teaching.  It  is  given  in  another  Cingalese 
book,  the  Tevigga  Sutta. 

When  Buddha  was  dwelling  at  Manasakata  in  the 
mango  grove,  certain  Brahmins  learned  in  the  three 
Vedas  come  to  consult  him  on  the  question  of  union 
with  the  eternal  Brahma.  They  ask  if  they  are  in  the 
right  pathway  towards  that  union.  Buddha  replies  at 
great  length.  He  suggests  an  ideal  case.  He  supposes 
that  a  man  has  fallen  in  love  with  the  "  most  beautiful 
woman  in  the  land."  Day  and  night  he  dreams  of  her, 
but  has  never  seen  her.  He  does  not  know  whether 
she  is  tall  or  short,  of  Brahmin  or  Sudra  caste,  of  dark 
or  fair  complexion ;  he  does  not  even  know  her  name. 
The  Brahmins  are  asked  if  the  talk  of  that  man  about 


"WISDOM  OF  THE  OTHER  BANK"      53 

that  woman  be  wish  or  foolish.  They  confess  that  it  is 
"  foolish  talk."  Buddha  then  applies  the  same  train  of 
reasoning  to  them.  The  Brahmins  versed  in  the  three 
Vedas  are  made  to  confess  that  they  have  never  seen 
Brahma,  that  they  do  not  know  whether  he  is  tall  or 
short,  or  anything  about  him,  and  that  all  their  talk 
about  union  with  him  is  also  foolish  talk.  They  are 
mounting  a  crooked  staircase,  and  do  not  know  whether 
it  leads  to  a  mansion  or  a  precipice.  They  are  standing 
on  the  bank  of  a  river  and  calling  to  the  other  bank  to 
come  to  them. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  if  Buddha  were  the  un- 
compromising teacher  of  atheism  that  many  folks 
picture  him,  he  has  at  this  point  an  admirable  oppor- 
tunity of  urging  his  views.  The  Brahmins,  he  would  of 
course  contend,  knew  nothing  about  Brahma,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  no  such  being  as  Brahma  exists. 

But  this  is  exactly  the  line  that  Buddha  does  not 
take.  His  argument  is  that  the  Brahmins  knew 
nothing  of  Brahma,  because  Brahma  is  purely  spiritual, 
and  they  are  purely  materialistic. 

Five  "Veils,"  he  shows,  hide  Brahma  from  mortal 
ken.     These  are — 

1.  The  Veil  of  Lustful  Desire. 

2.  The  Veil  of  Malice. 

3.  The  Veil  of  Sloth  and  Idleness. 

4.  The  Veil  of  Pride  and  Self-righteousness. 

5.  The  Veil  of  Doubt. 

Buddha  then  goes  on  with  his  questionings : 
"  Is  Brahma  in  possession  of  wives  and  wealth  ? " 
"  He    is    not,    Gautama ! "    answers    Vasettha    the 
Brahmin. 

"  Is  his  mind  full  of  anger;  or  free  from  anger  ? " 


54  BUDDHA   AND   BUDDHISM 

"  Free  from  anger,  Gautama  ! " 

"  Is  his  mind  full  of  malice,  or  free  from  malice  ? " 

"  Free  from  malice,  Gautama  !  " 

"  Is  his  mind  depraved  or  pure  ? " 

"  It  is  pure,  Gautama  ! " 

"  Has  he  self-mastery,  or  has  he  not  ? " 

"  He  has,  Gautama." 

The  Brahmins  are  then  questioned  about  themselves. 

"Are  the  Brahmins  versed  in  the  three  Vedas,  in 
possession  of  wives  and  wealth,  or  are  they  not  ? " 

"  They  are,  Gautama  ! " 

"  Have  they  anger  in  their  hearts,  or  have  they  not  ? " 

"  They  have,  Gautama." 

"  Do  they  bear  malice,  or  do  they  not  ? " 

"  They  do,  Gautama." 

"  Are  they  pure  in  heart,  or  are  they  not  ?  " 

"  They  are  not,  Gautama." 

"  Have  they  self-mastery,  or  have  they  not  ?  " 

"  They  have  not,  Gautama." 

These  replies  provoke,  of  course,  the  very  obvious 
retort  that  no  point  of  union  can  be  found  between 
such  dissimilar  entities.  Brahma  is  free  from  malice, 
sinless,  self-contained,  so,  of  course,  it  is  only  the 
sinless  that  can  hope  to  be  in  harmony  with  him. 

Yasettha  then  puts  this  question :  "  It  has  been  told 
me,  Gautama,  that  Sramana  Gautama  knows  the  way 
to  the  state  of  union  with  Brahma  ? " 

"  Brahma  I  know,  Vasettha  !  "  says  Buddha  in  reply, 
"and  the  world  of  Brahma,  and  the  path  leading 
to  it!" 

The  humbled  Brahmins  learned  in  the  three  Vedas 
then  ask  Buddha  to  "  show  them  the  way  to  a  state  of 
union  with  Brahma." 


"WISDOM   OF  THE  OTHER  BANK"      55 

Buddha  replies  at  considerable  length,  drawing  a 
sharp  contrast  between  the  lower  Brahminism  and 
the  higher  Brahminism,  the  "  householder "  and  the 
"  houseless  one."  The  householder  Brahmins  are  gross, 
sensual,  avaricious,  insincere.  They  practise  for  lucre 
black  magic,  fortune-telling,  cozenage.  They  gain  the 
ear  of  kings,  breed  wars,  predict  victories,  sacrifice  life, 
spoil  the  poor.  As  a  foil  to  this  he  paints  the  recluse, 
who  has  renounced  all  worldly  things  and  is  pure,  self- 
possessed,  happy. 

To  teach  this  "  higher  life,"  a  Tathagata  "  from  time 
to  time  is  born  into  the  world,  blessed  and  worthy, 
abounding  in  wisdom,  a  guide  to  erring  mortals."  He 
sees  the  universe  face  to  face,  the  spirit  world  of 
Brahma  and  that  of  Mara  the  tempter.  He  makes 
his  koowledge  known  to  others.  The  houseless  one, 
instructed  by  him,  "  lets  his  mind  pervade  one  quarter 
of  the  world  with  thoughts  of  pity,  sympathy,  and 
equanimity;  and  so  the  second,  and  so  the  third, 
and  so  the  fourth.  And  thus  the  whole  wide  world, 
above,  below,  around,  and  everywhere,  does  he  con- 
tinue to  pervade  with  heart  of  pity,  sympathy,  and 
equanimity,  far-reaching,  grown  great,  and  beyond 
measure."  1 

"  Verily  this,  Vasettha,  is  the  way  to  a  state  of  union 
with  Brahma,"  and  he  proceeds  to  announce  that  the 
Bhikshu,  or  Buddhist  beggar,  "  who  is  free  from  ano-er, 
free  from  malice,  pure  in  mind,  master  of  himself,  will, 
after  death,  when  the  body  is  dissolved,  become  united 
with  Brahma."  The  Brahmins  at  once  see  the  full 
force  of  this  teaching.  It  is  as  a  conservative  in  their 
eyes  that  Buddha  figures,  and  not  an  innovator.  He 
1  Rhys  Davids,  Buddhist  Suttas,  p.  201. 


56  BUDDHA   AND  BUDDHISM 

takes  the  side  of  the  ancient  spiritual  religion  of  the 
country  against  rapacious  innovators. 

"Thou  hast  set  up  what  was  thrown  down,"  they 
say  to  him.  In  the  Burmese  Life  he  is  described  more 
than  once  as  one  who  has  set  the  overturned  chalice 
once  more  upon  its  base. 

The  word  Dliarma  means  much  in  Buddhism. 

"  Obey  the  eternal  law  of  the  heavens.  Who  keeps 
this  law  lives  happily  in  this  world  and  the  next.1 

"  For  the  enfranchised  soul  human  suffering  no 
longer  exists.2 

"In  the  darkness  of  this  world  few  men  see  clearly. 
Very  few  soar  heavenwards  like  a  bird  freed  from  a 
net."3 

No  doubt  the  discipline  of  extasia  was  expected  to 
give  vitality  to  this  inner  quickening.  When  actual 
visions  of  the  Buddhas  of  the  ten  regions  were  before 
the  eyes  of  the  fasting  visionary,  it  was  judged  that  he 
would  have  a  more  practical  belief  in  their  lapis-lazuli 
domains.  The  heart  of  the  Eastern  nations  has  been 
truer  to  its  great  teacher  than  their  learned  meta- 
physicians have  been.  The  epoch  of  Buddha  is  called 
the  "Era  when  the  Milken  Bice  [immortality]  came 
into  the  world."4  This  certainty  of  a  heavenly 
kingdom  was  not  to  be  confined,  as  in  the  orthodox 
Brahminism,  to  a  priestly  caste.  A  king  had  become 
a  beggar  that  he  might  preach  to  beggars.  In  the 
Chinese  Dhammcqiada  there  is  a  pretty  story  of  a  very 
beautiful  Magdalen  who  had  heard  of  Buddha,  and 
who  started  off  to  hear  him  preach.  On  the  way, 
however,  she  saw  her  beautiful  face  in  a  fountain  near 

1  Dhammapada,  v.  169.  2  Ibid.  v.  90. 

3  Ibid.  v.  174.  4  Upham,  Hist.  Buddhism,  p.  48. 


"WISDOM  OF  THE  OTHER  BANK"   57 

which  she  stopped  to  drink,  and  she  was  unable  to 
carry  out  her  good  resolution.  As  she  was  returning 
she  was  overtaken  by  a  courtesan  still  more  beautiful 
than  herself,  and  they  journeyed  together.  Resting 
for  awhile  at  another  fountain,  the  beautiful  stranger 
was  overcome  with  sleep,  and  placed  her  head  on  her 
fellow-traveller's  lap.  Suddenly  the  beautiful  face 
became  livid  as  a  corpse,  loathsome,  a  prey  to  hateful 
insects.  The  stranger  was  the  great  Buddha  himself, 
who  had  put  on  this  appearance  to  redeem  poor 
Pundari.1  "  There  is  a  loveliness  that  is  like  a  beautiful 
jar  full  of  filth,  a  beauty  that  belongs  to  eyes,  nose, 
mouth,  body.  It  is  this  womanly  beauty  that  causes 
sorrow,  divides  families,  kills  children."  These  words, 
uttered  by  the  great  teacher  on  another  occasion, 
were  perhaps  retailed  a  second  time  for  the  Buddhist 
Magna  Civitatis  Peccatrix.2 

The  penitent  thief,  too,  is  to  be  heard  of  in  Bud- 
dhism. Buddha  confronts  a  cruel  bandit  in  his  moun- 
tain retreat  and  converts  him.3  All  great  movements, 
said  St.  Simon,  must  begin  by  working  on  the  emotion 
of  the  masses. 

Another  originality  of  the  teaching  of  Buddha 
was  the  necessity  of  individual  effort.  Ceremonial, 
sacrifice,  the  exertions  of  others,  could  have  no  pos- 
sible effect  on  any  but  themselves.  Against  the 
bloody  sacrifice  of  the  Brahmins  he  was  specially 
remorseless. 

"  How  can  the  system  which  requires  the  infliction 
of  misery  on  others  be  called  a  religious  system  ?  .  .  . 
How  having  a  body  defiled  with  blood  will  the  shedding 

1  Chinese  Dhammapada,  p.  35.  2  Ibid.  p.  159. 

3  Ibid.  p.  48. 


58  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

of  blood  restore  it  to  purity  ?  To  seek  a  good  by  doing 
an  evil  is  surely  no  safe  plan  ! " x 

Even  a  Buddha  could  only  show  the  sinner  the  right 
path.  "  Tathagatas  are  only  preachers.  You  yourself 
must  make  an  effort." 2 

Buddha's  theology  made  another  great  advance  on 
other  creeds,  a  step  which  our  century  is  only  now 
attempting  to  overtake.  He  strongly  emphasised  the 
remorseless  logic  of  cause  and  effect  in  the  deteriorat- 
ing influence  of  evil  actions  on  the  individual  character. 
The  Judas  of  Buddhism,  Devadatta,  repents  and  is 
forgiven.  But  Buddha  cannot  annul  the  causation  of 
his  evil  deeds.  These  will  have  to  be  dealt  with  by 
slow  degrees  in  the  purgatorial  stages  of  the  hereafter. 
He  knows  no  theory  of  a  dull  bigot  on  his  deathbed 
suddenly  waking  up  with  all  the  broad  sympathies  and 
large  knowledge  of  the  angel  Gabriel.  Unless  in  the 
next  life  a  being  takes  up  his  intellectual  and  moral 
condition  exactly  at  the  stage  he  left  it  in  this,  it  is 
plain  that  logically  his  individuality  is  lost.  This 
teaching  of  Buddha  has  been  whimsically  enforced  by 
some  of  his  followers.  His  own  words  are  trenchant 
and  clear :  "  A  fault  once  committed  is  like  milk,  which 
grows  not  sour  all  at  once.  Patiently  and  silently,  like 
a  smothered  ember,  shall  it  inch  by  inch  devour  the 
fool."  3  "  Both  a  good  action  and  an  evil  action  must 
ripen  and  bear  their  inevitable  fruit."  4 

This  teaching  has  been  powerfully  inculcated  in  one 
01  two  fine  parables,  in  which  the  consequences  of  sin 
are  imaged  as  an  iron  city  of  torment,  and  the  sins 
themselves  figure  as  beautiful  women  luring  man  to  his 

1  Romantic  History,  p.  159.  e  Dhammapada,  v.  276. 

3  Ibid.  v.  71.  4  Burnouf,  Introd.  p.  87. 


"WISDOM  OF  THE  OTHER  BANK"   59 

ruin.  On  the  surface  all  is  as  bewitching  as  a  scene  of 
the  Arabian  Nights.  The  palm-trees  of  a  soft  island 
rustle  gently,  and  in  a  delicious  palace  the  mean  seeker 
of  gold,  the  bad  son,  is  fanned  by  women  of  a  beauty 
unknown  to  earth.  He  has  sought  the  unworthy 
prizes  of  the  Kamaloca,  and  he  enjoys  them  for  a  time, 
because  with  Buddha  the  full  basket  and  store  of  the 
Brahmin  and  the  old  Jew  are  not  deemed  the  rewards 
of  heaven,  but  of  quite  another  region.  From  island 
to  island  the  wanderer  goes,  each  island  being  more 
delicious  than  the  preceding  one,  but  each  being  nearer 
to  the  iron-walled  city  of  expiation.  But  the  furies 
are  cause  and  effect,  and  not  an  eternal  Ahriman.  There 
is  no  devil  that  Buddha  cannot  soften.1 

This  suggests  another  great  advance  made  by  Buddha. 
In  his  day  the  beneficent  God  was  deemed  the  god  of  a 
nation,  a  tribe ;  and  all  the  gods  of  other  nations  were 
deemed  evil  demons.  This  creed  is  the  real  "  agnosti- 
cism" and  "atheism,"  because  its  main  postulate  im- 
plies that  the  reason  and  conscience  of  humanity  for 
thousands  and  thousands  of  years  have  been  unable  to 
discover  God,  and  that  if  He  has  been  found  at  all,  it 
is  to  accident  alone  that  the  discovery  is  due ;  even  if 
the  discovered  god  should  not  upon  examination  be 
found  to  be  composed  of  very  poor  clay.  But  the 
missionaries  of  Tathagata  were  sent  to  every  nation, 
and  Buddha  is  the  first  historical  teacher  who  pro- 
claimed that  even  in  the  hell  Avichi  was  no  recess 
sheltered  from  Tathagata's  all-pervading  love. 

But  the  crowning  legacy  to  humanity  of  this  priceless 
benefactor  was  his  boundless  compassion.     "  Buddha," 

1  Beal,  Romantic  History.  Comp.  Story  of  the  Five  Hundred  Mer- 
chants, p.  332,  and  the  Merchant,  p.  342. 


60  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

say  his  disciples,  "was  God  revealed  in  the  form  of 
Mercy."  The  theory  that  Buddha  was  a  myth  seems 
quite  to  break  down  here,  for  some  such  character 
must  have  existed,  that  ideas  so  far  in  advance  even  of 
modern  days  could  have  been  conceived.  His  majestic 
gentleness  never  varies.  He  converts  the  Very  Wicked 
One.  He  speaks  gently  to  the  Daughters  of  Sin.  He 
clears  out  even  the  lowest  of  hells  when  he  visits  earth , 
and  makes  devils  as  well  as  good  men  happy.  A  fool 
outrages  and  insults  him :  "  My  son,"  he  replies,  "  out- 
rage addressed  to  heaven  is  like  spittle  aimed  into  the 
skies:  it  returns  upon  the  author  of  the  outrage."1 
And  he  explained  to.  his  disciples  that  Tathagata  could 
never  be  made  angry  by  foul  actions  and  invectives. 
Such  can  only  make  him  redouble  his  mercy  and  love.2 
When  we  reflect  that  the  principle  of  retaliation  was  the 
rude  policy  of  the  day  in  which  he  lived,  and  that  aggrega- 
tions of  men  were  obliged  to  foster  a  love  of  revenge,  war, 
plunder,  and  bloodshed  in  their  midst,  prompted  by  the 
mere  instinct  of  self-preservation,  such  great  sentences 
as  the  following  of  Buddha  are  indeed  noteworthy : — 

"By  love  alone  can  we  conquer  wrath.  By  good 
alone  can  we  conquer  evil.  The  whole  world  dreads 
violence.  All  men  tremble  in  the  presence  of  death. 
Do  to  others  that  which  ye  would  have  them  do  to 
you.     Kill  not.     Cause  no  death." 3 

"Say  no  harsh  words  to  thy  neighbour.  He  will 
reply  to  thee  in  the  same  tone."  4 

" '  I  am  injured  and  provoked,  I  have  been  beaten 

1  Sutra  of  Forty-two  Sections,"  sect.  viii.  2  Ibid.  sect.  vii. 

3  Ibid.  v.  129.  M.  L£on  Feer  gives  here  the  very  words  of  Luke 
vi.  31. 

4  Ibid.  v.  133. 


"WISDOM   OF  THE  OTHER  BANK"      61 

and  plundered ! '  They  who  speak  thus  will  never 
cease  to  hate." 

"  That  which  can  cause  hate  to  cease  in  the  world  is 
not  hate,  but  the  absence  of  hate." x 

"  If,  like  a  trumpet  trodden  on  in  battle,  thou  corn- 
plainest  not,  thou  hast  attained  Nirvana." 

"  Silently  shall  I  endure  abuse,  as  the  war-elephant 
receives  the  shaft  of  the  bowman." 

"  The  awakened  man  goes  not  on  revenge,  but  rewards 
with  kindness  the  very  being  who  has  injured  him,  as  the 
sandal-tree  scents  the  axe  of  the  woodman  who  fells  it." 2 

I  will  now  copy  down  a  few  miscellaneous  sayings  of 
Buddha : — 

"The  swans  go  on  the  path  of  the  sun.  They  go 
through  the  air  by  means  of  their  miraculous  power. 
The  wise  are  led  out  of  this  world  when  they  have 
conquered  Mara  and  his  train."  3 

"  A  man  is  not  a  Sramana  by  outward  acts." 

"  Not  by  tonsure  does  an  undisciplined  man  become 
a  Sramana." 

"There  is  no  satisfying  of  lusts  with  a  shower  of 
gold  pieces." 

"A  man  is  not  a  Bhikshu  simply  because  he  asks 
others  for  alms.  A  man  is  not  a  Muni  because  he 
observes  silence.  Not  by  discipline  and  vows,  not  by 
much  spiritual  knowledge,  not  by  sleeping  alone,  not 
by  the  gift  of  holy  inspiration,  can  I  earn  that  release 
which  no  worldling  can  know.  The  real  Sramana  is 
he  who  has  quieted  all  evil." 

1  Sutra  of  Forty-two  Sections,  v.  4,  5. 

2  This  is  claimed  by  the  Brahmins  likewise,  but  it  is  quite  foreign  to 
their  genius.      Vide  Hodgson,  Essays,  p.  74. 

3  Dhammapada. 


62  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

"  If  one  man  conquer  in  battle  a  thousand  thousand 
men,  and  another  conquer  himself,  the  last  is  the 
greatest  conqueror." 

"Few  are  there  amongst  men  who  arrive  at  the 
other  shore.     Many  run  up  and  down  the  shore." 

"Let  the  fool  wish  for  a  false  reputation,  for  pre- 
cedence amongst  the  Bhikshus,  for  lordship  in  the 
convents,  for  worship  amongst  other  people." 

"  A  supernatural  person  is  not  easily  found.  He  is 
not  born  everywhere.  Wherever  such  a  sage  is  born 
that  race  prospers." 

"Call  not  out  in  this  way  as  if  I  were  the  god 
Brahma  "  (Chinese  parable). 

"  Religion  is  nothing  but  the  faculty  of  love." x 

"  The  house  of  Brahma  is  that  wherein  children  obey 
their  parents."  2 

"  The  elephant's  cub,  if  he  find  not  leafless  and  thorny 
creepers  in  the  greenwood,  becomes  thin."  3 

"Beauty  and  riches  are  like  a  knife  smeared  with 
honey.     The  child  sucks  and  is  wounded."  4 

The  One  Thing  Needful 

Certain  subtle  questions  were  proposed  to  Buddha, 
such  as :  What  will  best  conquer  the  evil  passions  of 
man  ?  What  is  the  most  savoury  gift  for  the  alms- 
bowl  of  the  mendicant  ?  Where  is  true  happiness  to  be 
found?  Buddha  replied  to  them  all  with  one  word, 
Dharma 5  (the  heavenly  life). 

I  will  now  give  some  of  the  Buddhist  parables,  some 
almost  unequalled  for  beauty. 

1  Bigandet,  p.  223.  2  Burnouf,  Introd. 

3  Hodgson,  p.  74.  4  Sutra  of  Forty-two  Sections,  sect.  xxi. 

6  Bigandet,  p.  225. 


CHAPTEE   V 

PARABLES 

The  Parable  of  the  Forgiveness  of  Injuries 

In  a  previous  existence  Buddha  was  once  the  ascetic 
Jin  Juh,  and  he  dwelt  in  a  forest.  "  Forests  are  de- 
lightful," he  subsequently  declared.  "  Where  the  world- 
ling finds  no  delight,  there  the  awakened  man  will  find 
delight."  At  this  time  there  was  a  king  called  Ko  Li, 
who  was  possessed  of  a  cruel  and  wicked  disposition. 
One  day,  taking  his  women  with  him,  he  entered  the 
forest  to  hunt,  and  becoming  tired,  he  lay  down  to 
sleep.  Then  all  the  women  went  into  the  woods  to 
gather  flowers,  and  they  came  to  the  cell  of  the  ascetic 
Jin  Juh,  and  listened  to  his  teaching.  After  some 
time  the  king  awoke,  and  having  missed  the  women, 
he  became  jealous,  and  drew  his  sword,  and  went  in 
search  of  them.  Seeing  them  all  standing  in  front  of 
the  cell  of  the  ascetic,  he  became  very  angry  indeed. 

"  Who  are  you  ? "  he  said. 

"  I  am  the  ascetic  Jin  Juh  ! " 

"  Have  you  conquered  all  earthly  passions  ? "  pursued 
the  king. 

The  ascetic  replied  that  he  was  there  to  struggle 
with  passion. 

"  If  you  have  not  attained  Sheung  te  teng,"  said  the 

63 


64  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

king,  "  I  do  not  see  that  you  are  better  than  the 
philosophers  [Fan  fuh] " ;  and  with  the  cruelty  of  an 
Eastern  tyrant,  he  hacked  off  the  hands  and  feet  of 
the  poor  hermit. 

Perceiving  a  majestic  calm  still  upon  the  face  of  the 
tortured  ascetic,  the  astonished  monarch  asked  him  if 
he  felt  no  anger. 

"  None,  king,  and  I  will  one  day  teach  thee  also  to 
curb  thy  wild-beast  passions.  When,  in  another  exist- 
ence, I  attain  Sheung  te  teng  [Nirvana],  thou,  O  king, 
shalt  be  my  first  convert." 

In  a  subsequent  existence  King  Ko  Li  became  the 
disciple  Kaundiliya. 

In  the  next  parable  we  get,  I  think,  a  protest  of  the 
Little  Vehicle  against  the  "  false  teachers "  of  the  in- 
novating school. 

The  Parable  of  the  Atheist 

Angati,  a  king  in  Tirhut,  had  a  daughter,  Ruchi.  At 
first  he  lived  piously,  but  one  day  he  heard  some  false 
teachers  who  declared  that  there  is  no  future  world, 
and  that  man,  after  death,  is  resolved  into  water  and 
the  other  elements.  After  this  he  thought  it  was  better 
to  enjoy  the  present  moment,  and  he  became  cruel. 

One  day  Ruchi  went  to  the  king  and  requested  him 
to  give  her  one  thousand  gold  pieces,  as  the  next  day 
was  a  festival  and  she  wished  to  make  an  offering.  The 
king  replied  that  there  was  no  future  world,  no  reward 
for  merit;  religious  rites  were  useless,  and  it  was 
better  to  enjoy  herself  in  the  present  world. 

Now  Ruchi  possessed  the  inner  vision,  and  was  able 
to  trace  back  her  life  through  fourteen  previous  exist- 


PARABLES  65 

ences.  She  told  the  king  that  she  had  once  been  a 
nobleman,  but  an  adulterer,  and  as  a  punishment  she 
was  now  only  a  woman.  As  a  further  punishment  she 
had  been  a  monkey,  a  bullock,  a  goat,  and  had  been 
once  born  into  the  hell  Avichi.  The  king,  unwilling 
to  be  taught  by  a  woman,  continued  to  be  a  sceptic. 
Ruchi  then,  by  the  power  of  an  incantation,  summoned 
a  spirit  to  her  aid,  and  Buddha  himself,  in  the  form  of 
an  ascetic,  arrived  at  the  city.  The  king  asked  him 
from  whence  he  came.  The  ascetic  replied  that  he 
came  from  the  other  world.  The  king,  in  answer, 
laughingly  said : 

"  If  you  have  come  from  the  other  world,  lend  me 
one  hundred  gold  pieces,  and  when  I  go  to  that  world 
I  will  give  you  a  thousand." 

Buddha  answered  gravely : 

"  When  any  one  lends  money,  it  must  be  to  the 
rich.  If  he  bestow  money  on  the  poor,  it  is  a  gift, 
for  the  poor  cannot  repay.  I  cannot  lend  you, 
therefore,  one  hundred  gold  pieces,  for  you  are  poor 
and  destitute." 

"You  utter  an  untruth,"  said  the  king  angrily. 
"  Does  not  this  rich  city  belong  to  me  ? " 

The  Buddha  replied : 

':  In  a  short  time,  O  king,  you  will  die.  Can 
you  take  your  wealth  with  you  to  hell  ?  There 
you  will  be  in  unspeakable  miseiy,  without  raiment, 
without  food.  How,  then,  can  you  pay  me  my 
debt?" 

At  this  moment  on  the  face  of  Buddha  was  a  strange 
light  which  dazzled  the  king.  Of  the  next  story  there 
are  many  versions.  It  is  very  popular  in  Buddhist 
countries. 


66  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

Buddha's  Parable  of  Kisogotami 

Once  a  humble  couple  lived  at  Sravasti.  They  sold 
pulse,  rice,  and  charcoal,  laid  out  in  little  round  flat 
baskets,  with  a  bit  of  poor  matting  propped  up  on 
bamboos  to  keep  off  the  midday  sun.  They  had  an 
only  daughter  Kisogotami.  One  day  her  father  sent 
her  to  fetch  some  wood.  She  stayed  in  the  jungle 
plucking  flowers,  until  in  a  thicket  she  suddenly  saw 
the  fierce  eyes  of  a  cheetah  staring  at  her.  She  very 
nearly  died  of  fright.  Suddenly  something  whizzed 
by  her  and  laid  the  cheetah  dead  at  her  feet.  It  was 
an  arrow  shot  by  a  comely  young  hunter,  a  servant  of 
the  Rajah.  He  wanted  soon  after  that  to  marry  Kiso- 
gotami, who  was  very  pretty,  but  the  old  parents  said 
that  they  could  not  spare  their  only  child.  One  day  a 
blind  man  passed  the  little  shop  singing  and  playing 
on  the  vina.     The  old  mother  listened  to  his  song — 

"  Without  a  mate  the  Kokila  grows  silent  on  the  spray, 
Silent — silent — silent  soon  for  aye." 

This  led  her  to  watch  her  daughter,  who  was  really 
pining  and  very  sick.  In  process  of  time,  through  the 
influence  of  the  mother,  the  young  girl  was  married. 
In  those  days  a  fierce  tiger  ravaged  the  district  and 
killed  many  villagers.  At  once  the  Rajah  offered  a  large 
reward  for  his  destruction.  The  husband  of  Kisogo- 
tami lured  by  this  attacked  the  tiger,  but  was  clawed 
to  death.  The  widow  and  a  young  child  returned  to 
Sravasti  to  meet,  alas !  a  procession  of  wailing  women 
accompanying  her  parents  to  the  grave.  A  month 
after  this  the  poor  widow  was  seen  carrying  a  dead 
child  in  her  arms,  and  moaning  piteously  the  words, 
"  Give  me  some  medicine  for  my  suffering  boy  ! " 


PARABLES  67 

One  answered,  "  Go  to  6akya  Muni,  the  Buddha ! " 

Kisogotami  repaired  to  the  cell  of  Buddha,  and 
accosted  him,  "  Lord  and  master,  do  you  know  of  any 
medicine  that  will  cure  my  boy  ? " 

Buddha  answered,  "I  want  a  handful  of  mustard- 
seed." 

The  girl  promised  to  procure  it,  but  Buddha  added, 
"  I  require  some  mustard-seed  taken  from  a  house 
where  no  son,  husband,  parent,  or  slave  has  died." 

Poor  Kisogotami,  with  the  dead  child  carried  astride 
of  her  hip  in  the  Indian  fashion,  went  from  house  to 
house.  The  compassionate  people  said,  "  Here  is  mus- 
tard-seed, take  it ! "  But  when  she  asked  if  any  son, 
or  husband,  or  parent,  or  slave  had  died  in  that  house, 
she  received  for  a  reply,  "  Lady,  the  living  are  few,  the 
dead  are  many ;  death  comes  to  every  house ! "  At 
last,  weary  and  hopeless,  Kisogotami  sat  down  by  the 
wayside,  and  watched  the  lamps  of  the  city  being  ex- 
tinguished one  by  one.  At  this  instant  Buddha,  by 
the  power  of  Siddhi,  placed  his  phantasm  before  her, 
which  said  to  her,  "  All  living  beings  resemble  those 
lamps.  They  are  lit  up  and  flicker  for  awhile,  and 
then  dark  night  reigns  over  all."  The  appearance 
then  preached  the  law  to  her,  and,  in  the  words  of  the 
Chinese  version,  he  provided  "salvation  and  refuge, 
pointing  out  the  path  that  leads  to  the  eternal  city." 

The  Story  of  Prince  Kunala 

King  Asoka  had  an  infant  boy  whose  eyes  were  so 
beautiful  that  his  father  called  him  Kunala.  There  is 
a  bird  of  this  name  that  dwells  amongst  the  rhododen- 
drons and  pines  of  the  Himalayas.     It  is  famed  for  its 


68  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

lovely  eyes.  The  young  prince  grew  up.  His  beauty 
was  the  talk  of  the  king's  dominions.  No  woman 
could  gaze  into  his  eyes  without  falling  in  love  with 
him.  A  Buddhist  Sthavira  (lit.  old  man)  spoke  serious 
words  to  him  one  day :  "  The  pride  of  the  eye,  my  son, 
is  vanity !     Beware ! " 

At  an  early  age  Kunala  married  a  young  girl,  named 
Kanchana.  One  day  a  royal  lady  saw  the  young 
husband,  and  fell  desperately  in  love  with  his  fine 
eyes.     Kunala  was  horrorstruck  at  this. 

"  Are  you  not,"  he  said,  "  in  the  zenana  of  the  king,  my 
father?"     This  speech  changed  her  love  to  a  bitter  hate. 

At  this  time  the  city  of  Taxila  revolted  against  King 
Asoka.  The  monarch  desired  to  hasten  thither,  but 
his  ministers  counselled  him  to  send  Prince  Kunala  in 
his  place.  The  prince  repaired  to  the  revolted  city  and 
soon  restored  quiet.  The  people  assured  him  that  it 
was  the  exactions  and  oppressions  of  the  king's  officers 
that  they  had  resisted,  not  the  king  himself. 

Soon  the  king  became  afflicted  with  a  revolting 
malady,  and  wanted  to  abdicate  in  favour  of  his  son. 
The  Queen  Tishya  Rakshita,  she  who  hated  the  prince, 
thought  in  her  heart,  "  If  Kunala  mounts  the  throne,  I 
am  lost ! "  She  ordered  her  slaves  to  bring  her  a  man 
afflicted  with  the  same  malady  as  the  king.  She 
poisoned  this  man  and  had  his  inside  examined.  A 
huge  worm  was  feeding  upon  it.  She  fed  this  worm 
with  pepper  and  with  ginger.  The  worm  was  none 
the  worse.     She  fed  it  with  onion,  it  died. 

Immediately  she  repaired  to  the  king  and  promised 
to  cure  him  if  he  would  grant  her  a  boon.  The  king 
promised  to  grant  her  anything  she  asked  him.  She 
said  to  him,  "Take  this  onion  and  you  will  be  well." 


PARABLES  6g 

"  Queen,"  said  the  king,  "  I  am  a  Kshatriya,  and  the 
laws  of  Manu  x  forbid  me  to  eat  onion."  The  queen 
told  him  it  was  medicine,  not  food.  He  ate  the  onion 
and  was  cured. 

The  boon  demanded  by  the  queen  as  a  recompense 
for  this  great  cure  was  a  week's  rule  of  the  king's 
dominions.  The  king  hesitated,  but  was  over-per- 
suaded. Immediately  the  queen  sent  an  order  sealed 
with  the  royal  seal  that  Prince  Kunala  should  be 
forced  to  wear  the  garments  of  a  beggar  and  have 
both  his  eyes  put  out.  A  blind  prince  cannot  mount 
the  throne. 

The  good  folks  of  Taxila  were  thunderstruck  at 
this  command,  but  they  said  to  each  other,  "  If  the 
king  is  so  merciless  to  his  son,  what  will  he  be  to  us  if 
we  disobey  him  ! "  Some  low-caste  Chanclalas  were 
summoned;  they  loved  the  prince,  and  would  not 
execute  the  cruel  order.  At  last  a  hideous  object,  a 
man  deformed  and  stained  with  eighteen  unsightly 
marks,  came  forward  and  tore  out  the  prince's  eyes. 
Soon  he  found  himself  a  beggar  on  the  high-road. 
His  wife,  Kanchana,  also  clad  in  rags,  was  by  his  side. 
The  poor  prince  now  remembered  the  solemn  words  of 
the  Sthavira. 

"  The  outside  world,"  he  said  to  his  wife,  "  is  it  not 
a  mere  globe  of  flesh  ? " 

The  prince  had  always  been  sickly,  and  to  support 
himself  now  he  played  upon  an  instrument  called  the 
vina.  After  many  wanderings  they  reached  Palibothra 
(Patna),  and  approached  the  palace  of  the  king;  but 
the  guards,  seeing  two  dirty  beggars,  thrust  them  out 
summarily. 

1  Manava  Dharma  Sastra,  iv.  st.  5. 


;o  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

By  and  by  the  king  heard  the  sound  of  the  vina. 

"It  is  my  son,"  he  said.  He  sent  out  officers  of 
the  court  to  bring  him  in.  His  condition  filled  the 
king  with  amazement.  When  he  understood  what 
had  happened  he  summoned  the  guilty  queen  to  his 
presence  and  ordered  her  to  be  burnt  alive. 

But  the  Prince  Kunala  was  now  a  changed  man. 
When  he  felt  himself  deserted,  as  he  thought,  by  his 
earthly  father,  he  had  become  a  son  of  Buddha  (fils  de 
Buddha).1  His  "  eye  of  flesh  "  had  been  put  out,  but 
he  felt  that  the  spiritual  vision  had  been  for  the  first 
time  awakened.  In  lieu  of  the  soft  clothes  of  KaSi,  he 
now  wore  the  rags  of  one  of  Buddha's  sublime  beggars. 
He  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  his  father,  and  pleaded 
for  the  queen's  life:  "I  feel  no  anger,  no  pain,  only 
gratitude.     Kill  her  not." 

Asoka,  the  powerful  sun-king,  was  destined  to  rule 
India  with  a  sway  more  extensive  than  that  of  the 
proudest  Mogul.  He  was  destined  also  to  abandon  his 
luxurious  palaces,  and  himself  wander  along  the  high- 
way begging  his  food.     He  too  became  a  Bhikshu. 

A  Buddha  at  a  Maeriage  Feast 

King  Sudarsana  was  a  model  king.  In  his  domin- 
ions was  no  killing  or  whipping  as  punishment; 
no  soldiers'  weapons  to  torture  or  destroy.  His  city, 
Jambunada,  was  built  of  crystal  and  cornelian,  and 
silver  and  yellow  gold.  A  Buddha  visited  it  one 
day. 

Now  in  that  city  was  a  man  who  was  the  next  day 
to  be  married,  and  he  much  wished  the  Buddha  to 
1  Burnouf,  Introd.  pp.  365,  306. 


PARABLES  7 1 

come  to  the  feast.  Buddha,  passing  by,  read  his  silent 
wish,  and  consented  to  come.  The  bridegroom  was 
overjoyed,  and  scattered  many  flowers  over  his  house 
and  sprinkled  it  with  perfumes. 

The  next  day  Buddha,  with  his  alms-bowl  in  his 
hand  and  with  a  retinue  of  many  followers,  arrived ; 
and  when  they  had  taken  their  seats  in  due  order,  the 
host  distributed  every  kind  of  exquisite  food,  saying, 
"  Eat,  my  lord,  and  all  the  congregation,  according  to 
your  desire ! " 

But  now  a  marvel  presented  itself  to  the  astonished 
mind  of  the  host.  Although  all  these  holy  men  ate 
very  heartily,  the  meats  and  the  drinks  remained 
positively  quite  undiminished;  whereupon  he  argued 
in  his  mind,  "  If  I  could  only  invite  all  my  kinsmen 
to  come,  the  banquet  would  be  sufficient  for  them 
likewise." 

And  now  another  marvel  was  presented.  Buddha 
read  the  good  man's  thought,  and  all  the  relatives 
without  invitation  streamed  in  at  the  door.  They, 
also,  fed  heartily  on  the  miraculous  food.  It  is  almost 
needless  to  add  that  the  Chinese  book  Fu-pen-hing- 
tsi-king  (as  translated  by  the  invaluable  Mr.  Beal) 
announces  that  all  these  guests,  having  heard  a  few 
apposite  remarks  on  Dharma  from  the  lips  of  the 
Tathagata,  to  the  satisfaction  of  everybody  (except- 
ing, perhaps,  the  poor  bride),  donned  the  yellow 
robes. 

The  next  parable  is  a  very  pretty  one,  and  shows 
that  a  love  that  can  pierce  the  limits  of  this  narrow 
world  and  range  amongst  the  Devalokas  of  the 
hereafter  could  be  conceived  even  in  the  age  of 
Sakya  Muni. 


72  BUDDHA   AND  BUDDHISM 

The  Story  of  the  Girl  BhadrI 

When  Sakya  Muni  was  in  a  previous  existence,  a 
certain  King  Suryapati  invited  the  great  Buddha 
Dipankara  to  visit  his  dominions;  and  to  do  him 
honour  he  issued  an  edict  that  all  his  subjects  within 
a  radius  of  twelve  yoganas  from  his  chief  city  should 
reserve  all  flowers  and  perfume  for  the  king  and  his 
offerings  to  the  Buddha.  No  one  was  to  be  in  posses- 
sion of  these  offerings  on  his  own  account. 

Sakya  was  at  this  time  a  young  Brahmin  named 
Megha.  He  was  well  versed  in  the  law,  although  he 
was  only  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  was  incomparable 
in  appearance ;  his  body  like  yellow  gold,  and  his  hair 
the  same.  His  voice  was  as  soft  and  sweet  as  the 
voice  of  Brahma.  He  happened  to  reach  the  city  at 
the  very  moment  that  it  was  adorned  in  expectation 
of  the  coming  of  the  Buddha  Dipankara,  and  having 
already  vague  yearnings  after  the  Buddhaship  in  his 
breast,  he  determined  to  make  an  offering  to.  the 
incarnate  Buddha. 

He  reasoned  thus  in  his  heart :  "  What  offering 
shall  I  make  to  him  ?  Buddhas  contemn  offerings 
of  money  ;  I  will  purchase  the  most  beautiful  flower 
I  can  find." 

He  went  to  a  hairdresser's  shop  and  selected  a 
lovely  flower,  but  the  hairdresser  refused  to  sell  it. 
"  The  king  has  given  orders,  respectable  youth,  that 
no  chaplets  of  flowers  in  this  city  are  on  any  account 
to  be  sold ! "  Megha  went  off  to  a  second  and  then 
to  a  third  hairdresser's  shop,  and  was  met  everywhere 
with  the  same  refusal. 

Now,    it  happened   that,   as   he   was   pursuing  his 


PARABLES 


73 


search,  he  saw  a  dark-clad  water-girl,  whose  name 
was  Bhadra,  secretly  take  a  seven-stalked  Utpala 
flower  and  put  it  inside  her  water-pitcher,  and  then 
go  on  her  way.  Megha  went  up  to  her  and  accosted 
her.  "  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  that  Utpala 
flower  which  I  saw  you  put  into  your  pitcher?  I 
will  give  you  five  hundred  gold  pieces  for  it  if  you 
will  sell  it  to  me." 

The  young  girl  was  arrested  by  the  novel  appear- 
ance of  the  handsome  young  man.  She  answered 
presently,  "  Beautiful  youth,  have  you  not  heard  that 
the  great  Dipankara  Buddha  is  now  about  to  enter 
the  city  in  consequence  of  the  king's  invitation,  and 
the  king  has  issued  orders  that  whatsoever  scented 
unguents  or  flowers  there  are  within  twelve  yoganas 
of  the  city  are  not  on  any  account  to  be  sold  to  any 
private  individual,  as  the  king  will  buy  them  all  up 
for  the  purpose  of  presenting  them  to  the  Buddha. 
Now,  in  our  neighbourhood  there  is  a  certain  hair- 
dresser's wife,  who  privately  took  from  me  five 
hundred  pieces  of  money  and  gave  me  in  return  this 
seven-stalked  flower ;  and  the  reason  why  I  have  thus 
transgressed  the  edict  of  the  king  is,  that  I  want 
myself  to  make  an  offering  to  the  holy  man." 

Then  Megha  answered,  "  My  good  girl,  what  you 
have  said  will  justify  you  in  taking  my  five  hundred 
gold  pieces,  and  in  giving  me  five  stalks  of  the  Utpala 
flower  and  reserving  two  for  yourself." 

She  answered,  "  What  will  you  do  with  the  flowers 
if  I  give  them  to  you  ? " 

The  young  Brahmin  told  her  that  he  wished  to  offer 
them  to  Buddha. 

Now,  it  happened  that  this  young  girl  was  gifted 


74  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

with  the  inner  vision,  and  she  knew  from  the  youth's 
remarkable  appearance  that  he  was  destined  one 
day  to  become  the  guide  of  men.  She  said,  "Fair 
stranger,  one  day  you  will  be  a  great  Buddha,  and  if 
you  will  promise  me  that,  up  to  the  day  of  your 
Buddhahood,  at  each  new  birth  you  will  take  me  as 
your  wife,  and  that  when  you  attain  Nirvana  you 
will  let  me  follow  you  as  a  disciple  in  your  retinue 
of  followers,  then  will  I  give  you  five  stalks  of  this 
Utpala  flower." 

The  Brahmin  replied  that  an  ascetic  was  required 
to  give  all  his  wealth  to  his  fellow-men,  and  that  if 
she  consented  to  such  an  arrangement  he  was  willing 
to  contract  that  she  should  ever  be  his  wife.  She 
sold  to  him  five  stalks  of  the  Utpala  flower,  that  they 
might  be  his  own  special  gift  to  the  Buddha,  and  she 
desired  him  to  present  the  other  two  stalks  as  her  own 
free  gift. 

When  Dipankara  approached,  majestic  and  with  a 
countenance  like  a  glassy  lake,  the  offering  was  thrown 
to  him,  and  by  a  miracle  the  flowers  remained  in  mid 
air,  forming  a  canopy  over  his  head. 

Amongst  the  "  Fan  heavens  "  of  the  Chinese  is  one 
called  Fuh-ngai  (happy  love).  Let  us  hope  that  in 
that  heaven  the  pretty  Bhikshu  Bhadra  is  still  near 
her  favourite  teacher. 


King  Wessantara 

Buddha  once  lived  on  earth  as  King  Wessantara. 
So  kind  was  he  to  everybody  that  it  was  rumoured 
that  he  had  made  a  resolution  to  give  to  everybody 
whatever  he  was  asked.      He  had  a  loving  wife  and 


PARABLES  75 

two  children.  He  had  also  an  enchanted  white 
elephant. 

A  grievous  famine  burst  out  in  a  neighbouring 
kingdom,  and  the  poor  died  by  thousands.  Eight 
Brahmins  were  sent  to  King  Wessantara  to  ask  him 
for  the  white  elephant;  for  fertile  rain  always  falls 
in  countries  where  an  enchanted  white  elephant  is 
staying.  The  benign  king  gave  up  his  white  elephant. 
This  so  incensed  his  own  people  that  they  deposed 
him. 

Wessantara  gave  all  his  wealth  to  the  poor,  and 
departed  in  a  carriage  drawn  by  two  horses,  intending 
to  repair  to  an  immense  rock  in  the  wilderness,  and 
there  become  a  hermit.  On  his  way  he  met  two 
poor  Brahmins,  who  asked  him  for  his  carriage.  He 
complied,  and  the  deposed  king  and  queen,  each 
carrying  a  child,  made  the  rest  of  the  journey  on  foot. 
Their  road  lay  through  the  kingdom  of  the  queen's 
father,  who  sought  to  overcome  their  resolution,  but 
in  vain. 

Meanwhile  a  Brahmin  named  Jutaka  was  living 
very  happily  with  a  beautiful  wife,  until  one  day 
some  envious  neighbours  poisoned  her  mind  as  she 
was  drawing  water  at  a  well.  They  persuaded  her 
she  was  a  slave,  and  so  incensed  her  that  she  attacked 
her  husband  and  beat  him  and  pulled  his  beard. 
Moreover,  she  threatened  to  leave  his  house  unless  he 
procured  for  her  two  slaves.  A  foolish  king,  she  said, 
named  Wessantara,  was  dwelling  as  a  hermit  in  the 
wilderness;  let  him  go  there  and  ask  for  two  slaves. 
He  had  two  children,  and  had  made  a  vow  to  refuse 
no  one  any  demand. 

Jutaka  departed,  but  found  all  access  to  the  royal 


76  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

hermit  denied  by  a  hunter  placed  there  by  the 
queen's  father,  who,  knowing  Wessantara's  vow,  had 
desired  to  screen  him  from  the  further  importunities 
of  the  greedy.  Jutaka  told  him  a  lying  tale  and 
contrived  to  reach  the  hermit.  He  demanded  the 
two  children  as  slaves,  and  Wessantara  was  bound  by 
his  oath  to  hand  them  over  to  him.  Jutaka,  as  soon 
as  he  was  out  of  sight  of  the  king,  bound  the  royal 
children  firmly  with  cords;  but  missing  his  way  in 
the  wilderness,  came  by  chance  to  the  territory  of  the 
queen's  father,  who  was  quickly  apprised  of  all  that 
had  occurred. 

He  summoned  the  Brahmin  before  him,  and  offered 
him  in  exchange  for  the  grandchildren  the  weight  of 
them  in  gold  pieces.  The  greedy  Brahmin's  end  was 
not  unlike  that  of  Judas,  for  with  his  ill-gotten  wealth 
he  made  a  great  feast,  and  from  repletion  his  bowels 
also  gushed  out.1 

King  Bambadat 

Buddha  was  in  one  of  his  births  a  merchant  of 
Benares,  and  as  he  was  one  day  passing  with  his 
wife  in  a  carriage  through  the  streets  of  Rajagriha, 
the  capital  of  King  Bambadat,  the  monarch  saw 
his  wife  and  became  captivated  with  her  unrivalled 
beauty. 

Immediately  he  hatched  an  infamous  plot  to  gain 
her.  He  sent  one  of  his  officers  to  drop  furtively  a 
jewel  of  great  value  in  the  merchant's  carriage. 
The  poor  merchant  was  then  arrested  on  the  charge 

1  This  parable  and  the  two  following  are  given  by  Upham  from  the 
Jatakas  of  the  Buddha. 


PARABLES  77 

of  stealing  the  royal  gem.  He  and  his  beautiful  wife 
were  brought  before  the  king,  who  listened  to  the 
evidence  with  mock  attention,  and  then  ordered  the 
merchant  to  be  executed  and  his  wife  to  be  detained 
in  the  royal  harem.  King  Bambadat  was  a  cruel 
monarch,  whose  oppressions  had  earned  him  the 
hatred  of  his  subjects. 

The  poor  merchant  was  led  away  to  be  decapitated, 
but  Indra  on  his  throne  in  heaven  had  witnessed  the 
atrocious  transaction ;  and,  lo !  a  miracle  was  accom- 
plished. As  the  executioner  raised  his  sword,  the 
king,  who  was  watching  the  bloody  event,  was 
suddenly  made  to  change  places  with  the  merchant 
by  the  agency  of  unseen  hands,  and  he  received  the 
fatal  blow;  whilst  Buddha  suddenly  found  himself 
exalted  on  the  royal  elephant  that  had  brought  the 
king  to  the  spot.  This  striking  interposition  of 
Heaven  awed  the  assembled  populace,  and  they  pro- 
claimed the  merchant  their  new  king.  It  is  needless 
to  add  that  his  rule  formed  a  striking  contrast  to 
that  of  King  Bambadat.  It  is  not  mentioned,  but  I 
think  it  is  very  plain  also,  that  the  beautiful  wife 
was  the  girl  Bhadra  of  the  former  story.  Buddhism 
has  done  much  evil  by  its  enforced  sacerdotal  celibacy, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  seems  to  have  had  the 
honour  of  first  conceiving  a  love  of  man  with  woman 
that  could  pierce  the  skies  and  be  prolonged  after 
death. 

The  Hungry  Dog 

There  was  once  a  wicked  king  named  Usuratanam 
who  oppressed  his  people  so  much  that  Buddha  from 


78  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

the  sky  took  compassion  upon  them.  At  this  time 
he  was  the  god  Indra,  and,  assuming  the  form  of  a 
huntsman,  he  came  down  to  earth  with  the  Deva 
Matali,  disguised  as  a  dog  of  enormous  size.  They 
at  once  entered  the  palace  of  the  king,  and  the  dog 
barked  so  wofully  that  the  sound  seemed  to  shake 
the  royal  buildings  to  their  very  foundations.  The 
king,  affrighted,  had  the  hunter  brought  before 
him;  and  he  inquired  the  portent  of  these  terrible 
sounds. 

"  It  is  through  hunger  that  the  dog  barks,"  said  the 
huntsman,  and  again  a  sound  louder  far  than  thunder 
reverberated  through  the  palace. 

"  Fetch  him  food  !  Fetch  anything  ! "  cried  the  king 
in  terror.  All  the  food  that  happened  then  to  be 
prepared  was  the  royal  banquet.  It  was  placed  before 
the  dog.  He  ate  it  with  surprising  rapidity,  and  then 
barked  once  more  with  his  terrible  voice.  More  food 
was  sent  for,  the  food  stored  up  in  the  city,  the  food 
of  the  adjacent  provinces,  but  still  the  insatiable  dog, 
after  a  brief  interval,  ate  all  up  and  barked  for  more. 
The  king  could  scarcely  prevent  himself  from  falling 
to  the  earth  with  terror. 

"  Will  nothing  ever  satisfy  your  dog,  O  hunter  ? " 
"  Nothing,  0  king,  but  the  flesh  of  all  his  enemies." 
"  And  who  are  his  enemies,  O  hunter  ? " 
"  His  enemies,"  said  the  hunter,  "  are  those  who  do 
wicked  deeds,  who  oppress  the  poor,  who  make  war, 
who  are  cruel  to  the  brute  creation." 

The  king,  remembering  his  many  evil  deeds,  was 
seized  with  terror  and  remorse;  and  the  Buddha, 
revealing  himself,  preached  the  law  of  righteousness 
to  him    and    his   people.     It    is    plain   that    in    the 


PARABLES  79 

original  story,  as  in  the  last,  Indra  alone  was  the 
supernatural  agent,  and  the  clumsy  introduction  of 
Buddha  is  an  afterthought.  Matali  is  the  conventional 
charioteer  of  Indra,  which,  I  think,  is  an  additional 
proof. 

Buddha  as  a  Peacemaker 

It  is  recorded  that  two  princes  were  once  about  to 
engage  in  a  terrible  battle  in  a  quarrel  that  took  place 
about  a  certain  embankment  constructed  to  keep  in 
water.  Between  these  kings  and  their  assembled 
armies  Buddha  suddenly  appeared  and  asked  the 
cause  of  the  strife.  When  he  was  completely  informed 
upon  the  subject,  he  put  the  following  questions: 

"  Tell  me,  O  kings  !  is  earth  of  any  intrinsic  value  ? " 

"  Of  no  value  whatever,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Is  water  of  any  intrinsic  value  ? " 

"  Of  no  value  whatever  !  " 

"  And  the  blood  of  kings,  is  that  of  any  intrinsic 
value  ? " 

"  Its  value  is  priceless  ! " 

"  Is  it  reasonable,"  asked  the  Tathagata,  "  that  that 
which  is  priceless  should  be  staked  against  that  which 
has  no  value  whatever  ? " 

The  incensed  monarchs  saw  the  wisdom  of  this 
reasoning,  and  abandoned  their  dispute.1 


The  Prodigal  Sox2 

A  certain  man  had   a  son  who  went  away  into    a 
far  country.     There  he  became  miserably  poor.     The 

1  Bigandet,  p.  191. 

2  This  is  the  title  adopted  in  the  translation  of  M.  Foucaux. 


80  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

father,  however,  grew  rich,  and  accumulated  much 
gold  and  treasure,  and  many  storehouses  and  elephants. 
But  he  tenderly  loved  his  lost  son,  and  secretly  lamented 
that  he  had  no  one  to  whom  to  leave  his  palaces  and 
suvernas  at  his  death. 

After  many  years  the  poor  man,  in  search  of  food 
and  clothing,  happened  to  come  to  the  country  where 
his  father  had  great  possessions.  And  when  he  was 
afar  off  his  father  saw  him,  and  reflected  thus  in  his 
mind :  "  If  I  at  once  acknowledge  my  son  and  give  to 
him  my  gold  and  my  treasures,  I  shall  do  him  a  great 
injury.  He  is  ignorant  and  undisciplined ;  he  is  poor 
and  brutalised.  With  one  of  such  miserable  inclina- 
tions, 'twere  better  to  educate  the  mind  little  by  little. 
I  will  make  him  one  of  my  hired  servants." 

Then  the  son,  famished  and  in  rags,  arrived  at  the 
door  of  his  father's  house ;  and,  seeing  a  great  throne 
upraised  and  many  followers  doing  homage  to  him 
who  sat  upon  it,  was  awed  by  the  pomp  and  the 
wealth  around.  Instantly  he  fled  once  more  to  the 
highway.  "This,"  he  thought,  "is  the  house  of  the 
poor  man.  If  I  stay  at  the  palace  of  the  king  perhaps 
I  shall  be  thrown  into  prison." 

Then  the  father  sent  messengers  after  his  son ;  who 
was  caught  and  brought  back  in  spite  of  his  cries  and 
lamentations.  When  he  reached  his  father's  house  he 
fell  down  fainting  with  fear,  not  recognising  his  father, 
and  believing  that  he  was  about  to  suffer  some  cruel 
punishment.  The  father  ordered  his  servants  to  deal 
tenderly  with  the  poor  man,  and  sent  two  labourers  of 
his  own  rank  of  life  to  engage  him  as  a  servant  on  the 
estate.  They  gave  him  a  -broom  and  a  basket,  and 
engaged  him  to  clean  up  the  dungheap  at  a  double  wage. 


PARABLES  81 

From  the  window  of  his  palace  the  rich  man 
watched  his  son  at  his  work ;  and  disguising  himself 
one  day  as  a  poor  man,  and  covering  his  limbs  with 
dust  and  dirt,  he  approached  his  son  and  said,  "  Stay 
here,  good  man,  and  I  will  provide  you  with  food  and 
clothing.  You  are  honest,  you  are  industrious.  Look 
upon  me  as  your  father." 

After  many  years  the  father  felt  his  end  approach- 
ing, and  he  summoned  his  son  and  the  officers  of  the 
king,  and  announced  to  them  the  secret  that  he  had  so 
long  kept.  The  poor  man  was  really  his  son,  who  in 
early  days  had  wandered  away  from  him;  and  now 
that  he  was  conscious  of  his  former  debased  condition, 
and  was  able  to  appreciate  and  retain  vast  wealth, 
he  was  determined  to  hand  over  to  him  his  entire 
treasure.  The  poor  man  was  astonished  at  this  sudden 
change  of  fortune,  and  overjoyed  at  meeting  his  father 
once  more. 

The  parables  of  Buddha  are  reported  in  the  Lotus  of 
the  Perfect  Law  to  be  veiled  from  the  ignorant  by 
means  of  an  enigmatic  form  of  language.1  The  rich 
man  of  this  parable,  with  his  throne  adorned  by  flowers 
and  garlands  of  jewels,  is  announced  to  be  Tathagata, 
who  dearly  loves  all  his  children,  and  has  prepared 
for  them  vast  spiritual  treasures.  But  each  son  of 
Tathagata  has  miserable  inclinations.  He  prefers  the 
dungheap  to  the  pearl  mani.  To  teach  such  a  man, 
Tathagata  is  obliged  to  employ  inferior  agents,  the 
monk  and  the  ascetic,  and  to  wean  him  by  degrees 
from  the  lower  objects  of  desire.  When  he  speaks 
himself,  he  is  forced  to  veil  much  of  his  thought,  as  it 
would  not  be  understood.  His  sons  feel  no  joy  on 
1  Lotus ,  p.  45. 
6 


82  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

hearing   spiritual  things.     Little  by  little  must  their 
minds  be  trained  and  disciplined  for  higher  truths. 

Parable  of  the  Woman  at  the  Well 

Ananda,  a  favourite  disciple  of  Buddha,  was  once 
athirst,  having  travelled  far.  At  a  well  he  encountered 
a  girl  named  Matanga,  and  asked  her  to  give  him  some 
water  to  drink.  But  she,  being  a  woman  of  low  caste, 
was  afraid  of  contaminating  a  holy  Brahmana,  and 
refused  humbly. 

"  I  ask  not  for  caste,  but  for  water ! "  said  Ananda. 
His  condescension  won  the  heart  of  the  girl  Matanga. 

It  happened  that  she  had  a  mother  cunning  in  love 
philtres  and  weird  arts,  and  when  this  woman  heard 
how  much  her  daughter  was  in  love,  she  threw  her 
magic  spells  round  the  disciple  and  brought  him  to  her 
cave.  Helpless,  he  prayed  to  Buddha,  who  forthwith 
appeared  and  cast  out  the  wicked  demons. 

But  the  girl  Matanga  was  still  in  wretched  plight. 
At  last  she  determined  to  repair  to  Buddha  himself 
and  appeal  to  him. 

The  Great  Physician,  reading  the  poor  girl's  thought, 
questioned  her  gently  : 

"Supposing  that  you  marry  my  disciple,  can  you 
follow  him  everywhere  ? " 

"  Everywhere  !  "  said  the  girl. 

"  Could  you  wear  his  clothes,  sleep  under  the  same 
roof?"  said  Buddha,  alluding  to  the  nakedness  and 
beggary  of  the  "  houseless  one." 

By  slow  degrees  the  girl  began  to  take  in  his  meaning, 
and  at  last  she  took  refuge  in  the  Three  Great  Pearls.1 
:  Burnouf,  Introd.  p.  138. 


PARABLES  83 

The  Story  of  VIsavadatta 

At  Mathur&  was  a  courtesan  named  Vasavadatta. 
She  fell  violently  in  love  with  one  of  the  actual  dis- 
ciples of  Buddha  named  Upagupta,  and  sent  her 
servant  to  him  to  declare  her  passion.  Upagupta 
was  young  and  of  singular  beauty.  In  a  short  time 
the  servant  returned  with  the  following  enigmatic 
reply:— 

"The  time  has  not  yet  arrived  when  the  disciple 
Upagupta  will  pay  a  visit  to  the  courtesan  Vasava- 
datta ! " 

Vasavadatta  was  astonished  at  this  reply.  Her 
class  at  this  time  was  a  caste,  a  body  organised,  and 
indeed  fostered,  by  the  State,  and  she  lived  in  great 
magnificence.  She  was  the  most  beautiful  woman  in 
the  king's  dominions,  and  not  accustomed  to  have  her 
love  rejected.  When  her  first  moments  of  petulance 
had  passed,  she  reflected  that  the  young  man  was 
poor.  Again  she  sent  her  servant  to  Upagupta.  "  Tell 
him  that  Vasavadatta  desires  love,  not  gold  and  pearls." 
By  and  by  the  servant  returned  with  the  enigmatic 
answer, "  The  time  has  not  yet  arrived  when  the  disciple 
Upagupta  will  visit  the  courtesan  Vasavadatta ! " 

Some  few  months  after  this,  Vasavadatta  had  a  love 
intrigue  with  the  head  of  the  artisans  of  Mathura,  and 
whilst  this  was  in  progress  a  very  wealthy  merchant 
arrived  at  the  city  with  five  hundred  horses  that  he 
desired  to  sell.  Hearing  of  the  beauty  of  Vasavadatta, 
he  contrived  to  see  her,  and  also  to  fall  in  love  with 
her.  His  pearls  and  suvernas  were  too  much  for  the 
giddy  woman.  She  assassinated  the  head  of  the 
artisans  and  ordered  his  corpse  to  be  flung  on  a  dung- 


84  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

heap.  By  and  by  his  relations,  alarmed  at  his  dis- 
appearance, caused  a  search  to  be  made,  and  the  body 
was  found. 

Vasavadatta  was  arrested  and  carried  before  the 
king,  who  gave  orders  that  her  ears,  her  nose,  her 
hands,  and  her  feet  should  at  once  be  cut  off  by  the 
common  executioner  and  her  body  flung  in  a  grave- 
yard. Her  maid  still  clung  to  her,  for  she  had  been 
a  kind  mistress.  She  tried  to  assuage  her  pain,  and 
drove  away  the  crows  from  her  bleeding  body. 

Vasavadatta  now  received  a  third  message  from 
Upagupta:  "The  time  has  arrived  when  the  disciple 
Upagupta  will  pay  a  visit  to  the  courtesan  Vasava- 
datta ! "  The  poor  woman,  in  whom  an  echo  of  the  old 
passion  still  reverberated,  hurriedly  ordered  her  maid 
to  collect  and  hide  away  under  a  cloth  her  severed  feet 
and  limbs,  the  poor  remnants  of  her  old  beauty ;  and 
when  the  young  man  appeared  she  said  with  some 
petulance  : 

"  Once  this  body  was  fragrant  like  the  lotus,  and  I 
offered  you  my  love.  In  those  days  I  was  covered 
with  pearls  and  fine  muslin.  Now  I  am  mangled  and 
covered  with  filth  and  blood.  My  hands,  my  feet,  my 
nose,  my  ears  have  been  struck  off  by  the  common 
executioner  ! " 

The  young  man  with  great  gentleness  comforted 
poor  Vasavadatta  in  her  agony.  "  Sister,  it  is  not  for 
my  pleasure  and  happiness  that  I  now  draw  near." 
And  he  pointed  out  the  "  true  nature  "  of  the  charms 
that  she  mourned.  He  showed  her  that  they  had 
proved  torments  and  not  joys,  and  if  immodesty,  and 
vanity,  and  greed,  and  the  murderous  instinct  had 
been  lopped  away,  she  had  sustained  a  gain  and  not  a 


PARABLES  85 

loss.  He  then  told  her  of  the  Tathagata  that  he  had 
seen  walking  upon  this  very  earth,  a  Tathagata  who 
specially  loves  the  suffering. 

His  speech  brought  calm  to  the  soul  of  Vasava- 
datta.  She  died  after  having  professed  her  faith  in 
Buddha.1 

She  was  carried  by  spirits  to  the  penitential  heavens 
of  the  Devaloca. 


Parable  of  the  Blazing  Mansion 

Once  there  was  an  old  man,  broken,  decrepit,  but 
very  rich.  He  possessed  much  land  and  many  gold 
pieces.  Moreover,  he  possessed  a  large  rambling 
mansion  which  also  showed  plain  proofs  of  time's 
decay.  Its  rafters  were  worm-eaten ;  its  pillars  were 
rotten;  its  galleries  were  tumbling  down;  the  thatch 
on  its  roof  was  dry  and  combustible.  Inside  this 
mansion  were  several  hundreds  of  the  old  man's 
servants  and  retainers,  so  extensive  was  the  collection 
of  rambling  old  buildings. 

Unfortunately  this  mansion  possessed  only  one 
door. 

The  old  man  was  also  the  father  of  many  children 
— five,  ten,  twenty,  let  us  say.  One  day  there  was  a 
smell  of  burning,  and  he  ran  out  by  the  solitary  door. 
To  his  horror  he  saw  the  thatch  in  a  mass  of  flame, 
the  rotten  old  pillars  were  catching  fire  one  by  one, 
the  rafters  were  blazing  like  tinder.  Inside,  his 
children,  whom  he  loved  most  tenderly,  were  romp- 
ing and  amusing  themselves  with  their  toys. 

The  distracted  father  said  to  himself,  "I  will  run 
1  Burnouf,  Introd.  pp.  131,  132. 


86  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

in  and  save  my  children.  I  will  seize  them  in  my 
strong  arms.  I  will  bear  them  harmless  through  the 
falling  rafters  and  the  blazing  beams!"  Then  the 
sad  thought  seized  him  that  his  children  were  romping 
and  ignorant.  "If  I  tell  them  that  the  house  is  on 
fire  they  will  not  understand  me.  If  I  try  to  seize 
them  they  will  romp  about  and  try  to  escape.  Alas ! 
not  a  moment  is  to  be  lost ! " 

Suddenly  a  bright  thought  flashed  across  the  old 
man's  mind.  "  My  children  are  ignorant,"  he  mentally 
said,  "but  they  love  toys  and  glittering  playthings. 
I  will  promise  them  some  playthings  of  unheard-of 
beauty.     Then  they  will  listen  to  me ! " 

So  the  old  man  shouted  out  with  a  loud  voice, 
"  Children,  children,  come  out  of  the  house  and  see 
these  beautiful  toys.  Chariots  with  white  oxen,  all 
gold  and  tinsel.  See  these  exquisite  little  antelopes ! 
Whoever  saw  such  goats  as  these  !  Children,  children, 
come  quickly  or  they  will  all  be  gone ! " 

Forth  from  the  blazing  ruin  came  the  children  in 
hot  haste.  The  word  "playthings"  was  almost  the 
only  word  that  they  could  understand.  Then  the  fond 
father,  in  his  great  joy  at  seeing  his  offspring  freed 
from  peril,  procured  for  them  some  of  the  most 
beautiful  chariots  ever  seen.  Each  chariot  had  a 
canopy  like  a  pagoda.  It  had  tiny  rails  and  balus- 
trades and  rows  of  jingling  bells.  It  was  formed 
of  the  seven  precious  substances.  Chaplets  of  glitter- 
ing pearls  were  hung  aloft  upon  it ;  standards  and 
wreaths  of  the  most  lovely  flowers.  Milk-white  oxen 
drew  these  chariots.  The  children  were  astonished 
when  they  were  placed  inside. 

The  meaning  of  this  parable  is  thus  rendered  in  the 


PARABLES  87 

White  Lotus  of  Dharma.  The  old  man  is  Tathagata, 
and  his  children  the  blind,  suffering  children  of  sin 
and  passion.  Tathagata  fondly  loves  them,  and  would 
save  them  from  their  unhappiness.  The  old  rambling 
mansion,  unsightly,  rotten,  perilous,  is  the  domain  of 
Kama,  the  Domain  of  Appetite,  the  three  great  worlds 
of  the  visible  kosmos.  This  old  mansion  is  ablaze 
with  the  fire  of  mortal  passions  and  hates  and  lusts. 
Tathagata  in  his  "immense  compassion"  would  lead 
all  his  beloved  children  away  from  this  great  peril, 
but  they  do  not  understand  his  language.  Their  only 
thought  is  of  tinsel  toys  and  childish  pastimes.  If 
he  speaks  to  them  of  the  great  inner  quickening 
which  makes  man  conquer  human  pain,  they  cannot 
understand  him.  If  he  talks  to  them  of  wondrous 
supernatural  gifts  accorded  to  mortals,  they  turn  a 
deaf  ear  to  him.  The  tinsel  chariots  provided  for  the 
children  of  Tathagata  are  the  "  Greater  "  and  "  Lesser  " 
Vehicles  of  the  Buddhist  teaching. 

The  Sermon  to  Rahula  respecting  Falsehood 

Of  the  seven  sacred  books  recognised  in  the  days 
of  Asoka,  one  mentioned  in  the  Bhabra  edict  has 
lately  come  to  light;  and  this  has  been  found  not 
in  the  vaunted  ancient  canon  of  Ceylon,  but  in  China. 
I  give  this  short  work  in  extenso  as  translated  by 
the  invaluable  Professor  Beal.1 

"  In  days  of  old,  before  Rahula  had  attained  to 
supreme  wisdom,  his  natural  disposition  being  some- 
what low  and  disorderly,  his  words  were  not  always 
marked  by  love  of  truth.  On  one  occasion  Buddha 
1  Dhammajjada,  p.  142. 


88  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

had  ordered  him  to  go  to  the  Kien-tai  [Ghanda  or 
Ghanta  ?]  Vihara,  and  there  remain  guarding  his 
mouth  [tongue]  and  governing  his  thoughts,  at  the 
same  time  diligently  studying  [or  observing]  the 
rules  of  conduct  laid  down  in  the  scriptures. 
Rahula,  having  heard  the  command,  made  his 
obeisance  and  went.  For  ninety  days  he  remained 
in  deep  shame  and  penitence.  At  length  Buddha 
repaired  to  the  place  and  showed  himself.  On  see- 
ing him,  Rahula  was  filled  with  joy,  and  reverently 
bowed  down  and  worshipped  him.  After  this,  Buddha 
having  taken  the  seat  provided  for  him,  he  desired 
Rahula  to  fill  a  water-basin  with  water  and  bring 
it  to  him  and  wash  his  feet.  Having  done  so,  and 
the  washing  being  over,  Buddha  asked  Rahula  if  the 
water  so  used  was  now  fit  for  any  purpose  of  domestic 
use  [drinking,  etc.] ;  and  on  Rahula  replying  in  the 
negative  because  the  water  was  defiled  with  dust 
and  dirt,  Buddha  added,  '  And  such  is  your  case ; 
for  although  you  are  my  son  and  the  grandchild  of 
the  king,  although  you  have  voluntarily  given  up 
everything  to  become  a  Shaman,  nevertheless  you 
are  unable  to  guard  your  tongue  from  untruth  and 
the  defilement  of  loose  conversation,  and  so  you  are 
like  this  defiled  water — useful  for  no  further  purpose.' 
And  again  he  asked  him,  after  the  water  had  been 
thrown  away,  whether  the  vessel  was  now  fit  for 
holding  water  to  drink ;  to  which  Rahula  replied, 
'No,  for  the  vessel  is  still  defiled,  and  is  known  as 
an  unclean  thing,  and  therefore  not  used  for  any 
purpose  such  as  that  indicated.'  To  which  Buddha 
again  replied,  'And  such  is  your  case.  By  not 
guarding    your    tongue,    etc.,    you    are    known    and 


PARABLES  89 

recognised  as  unfit  for  any  high  purpose,  although 
you  profess  to  be  a  Shaman.'  And  then  once  more 
lifting  the  empty  basin  on  to  his  foot,  and  whirling 
it  round  and  round,  he  asked  Rahula  if  he  were  not 
afraid  lest  it  should  fall  and  be  broken;  to  which 
Rahula  replied  that  he  had  no  such  fear,  for  the 
vessel  was  but  a  cheap  and  common  one,  and 
therefore  its  loss  would  be  a  matter  of  small  moment. 
'And  such  is  your  case,'  again  said  Buddha;  'for 
though  you  are  a  Shaman,  yet,  being  unable  to  guard 
your  mouth  or  your  tongue,  you  are  destined,  as  a 
small  and  insignificant  thing,  to  be  whirled  in  the 
endless  eddies  of  transmigration,  an  object  of  con- 
tempt to  all  the  wise.'  Rahula  being  filled  with 
shame,  Buddha  addressed  him  once  more.  'Listen, 
and  I  will  speak  to  you  a  parable.  There  was  in  old 
time  the  king  of  a  certain  country,  who  had  a  large 
and  very  powerful  elephant,  able  to  overpower  by  its 
own  strength  five  hundred  smaller  elephants.  This 
king,  being  about  to  go  to  war  with  some  rebellious 
dependency,  brought  forth  the  iron  armour  belonging 
to  the  elephant,  and  directed  the  master  of  the  animal 
to  put  it  on  him,  to  wit,  two  sharp-pointed  swords  on 
his  tusks,  two  iron  hooks  [scythes]  on  his  ears,  a 
crooked  spear  on  each  foot,  an  iron  club  [or  ball] 
attached  to  his  tail,  and  to  accompany  him  were 
appointed  nine  soldiers  as  escort.  Then  the  elephant- 
master  rejoiced  to  see  the  creature  thus  equipped,  and 
trained  him  above  all  things  to  keep  his  trunk  well 
coiled  up,  knowing  that  an  arrow  piercing  that  in  the 
midst  must  be  fatal.  But  lo !  in  the  middle  of  the 
battle  the  elephant,  uncoiling  his  trunk,  sought  to 
seize  a  sword  with  it.      On  which   the   master  was 


go  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

affrighted,  and,  in  consultation  with  the  king  and  his 
ministers,  it  was  agreed  that  he  should  no  more 
be  brought  into  the  battlefield.'  In  continuation 
Buddha  said :  '  Rahula !  if  men,  committing  the  nine 
faults,  only  guard  their  tongue  as  this  elephant 
was  trained  to  guard  his  trunk,  all  would  be  well. 
Let  them  guard  against  the  arrow  that  strikes 
in  the  middle !  let  them  keep  their  mouth,  lest 
they  die,  and  fall  into  the  misery  of  future  births 
in  the  three  evil  paths ! '  And  then  he  added  these 
stanzas : — 

" '  I  am  like  the  fighting  elephant  without  any  fear 
of  the  middle  arrow  [the  arrow  wounding  the  middle 
part].  By  sincerity  and  truth  I  escape  the  un- 
principled man  [lawless  man].  Like  the  elephant,  well 
subdued  and  quiet,  who  permits  the  king  to  mount  on 
his  trunk  [offers  his  trunk  for  the  king  to  ascend], 
thus  tamed  is  the  reverend  man;  he  also  endures 
truthfully  and  in  faith.' 

"  Rahula,  hearing  these  words,  was  filled  with 
sorrow  for  his  careless  disregard  of  his  words,  and 
gave  himself  up  to  renewed  exertion,  and  so  became 
a  Rahat." 

Externals 

Against  Buddha's  teaching  two  main  objections 
have  been  urged : 

1.  That  his  Bodhi,  viewed  from  a  spiritual  point  of 
view,  is  mere  selfishness.  The  individual  isolates 
himself  from  his  race  for  his  own  advantage. 

2.  The  monkish  system  that  he  spread  abroad  has, 
in  point  of  fact,  produced  many  grave  evils — idleness, 
immorality,   depravity,    etc.  —  and    is,    in    fact,    pure 


PARABLES  91 

pessimism.  One  answer  meets  both  objections,  that 
is,  as  far  as  they  are  unjust. 

The  problem  before  a  reformer  in  Buddha's  day 
was  essentially  practical.  To  enfranchise  the  world, 
what  possible  apparatus  was  available  ?  The  oratory 
of  the  uninspired  demagogue  would  not  have  been 
listened  to  by  the  masses,  and  would  have  been 
quickly  silenced  by  the  dominant  caste.  Books, 
printing  presses,  even  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  were 
unavailable;  and  the  victories  of  material  force  in 
Buddha's  view  meant  merely  the  firmer  riveting  of 
chains.  So  Buddha,  himself  a  king,  in  commencing 
his  conflict,  handed  over  an  army  of  soldiers  and  an 
army  of  priests  to  his  antagonists,  determined  that 
the  victory  should  be  a  purely  moral  one.  One 
weapon  alone  was  within  reach  —  the  tree  of  the 
Rishi.  Under  that  tree  God  spake.  Such  was  the 
belief  of  the  people,  based  on  the  teaching  of  the 
Vedic  hymns,  as  recited  at  every  sacrifice.  With 
Buddha  the  Bodhi  meant  not  selfishness,  but  the 
complete  conquest  of  self;  and  the  initiation  of  the 
Rishi  under  his  tree  was  merely  a  means  to  an  end. 
Instead  of  being  sloth,  that  end  was  boundless 
activity  in  contributing  to  the  happiness  of  others. 
His  blameless  soldiers,  having  given  up  wife  and 
wealth,  were  ordered  to  march  from  tree  to  tree, 
never  resting  for  two  nights  under  the  same  one. 
No  halt  was  to  be  allowed  but  the  grave  as  long 
as  a  king  oppressed  his  subjects,  a  priest  tortured 
animals,  or  as  long  as  spiritual  ignorance  tortured 
priests  and  kings. 

Viewed  from  the  historical  side,  the  following  origin- 
alities may  be  accredited  to  Buddhism : — 


92  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

1.  Enforced  vegetarianism  for  the  whole  nation. 

2.  Enforced  national  abstinence  from  wine. 

3.  Abolition  of  slavery. 

4.  The  introduction  of  the  principle  of  forgiveness 
of  injuries  in  opposition  to  the  national  lex  talionis. 

5.  Uncompromising  antagonism  to  all  national 
religious  rites  that  were  opposed  to  the  gnosis  or 
spiritual  development  of  the  individual. 

6.  Beggary,  continence,  and  asceticism  for  the 
religious  teachers. 

These  are  the  six  originalities  of  the  Buddhist 
movement,  as  viewed  from  the  outside. 

Up  to  the  age  of  eighty,  the  indefatigable  old  man 
carried  on  his  preachings,  chiefly  in  modern  Behar  (a 
corruption  of  Vihara,  the  old  word  for  monastery). 
The  ancient  books  scarcely  help  us  here,  owing  to 
Eastern  exaggerations  and  Eastern  romance.  Kings 
everywhere  bow  to  him  humbly,  and  converts  come 
in,  not  by  thousands  but  by  tens  of  thousands. 
From  Patna  he  marches  to  Rajagriha,  and  from  Raja- 
griha to  Kapilavastu,  founding  monasteries  every- 
where.    On  this  point  we  have  more  to  say  by  and 

by. 

Death  of  Buddha 

Some  eighty  miles  due  east  of  Buddha's  birthplace, 
Kapilavastu,  now  stands  a  modest  village  called  Matha 
Kuar  (the  "Dead  Prince").  At  the  date  of  the 
pilgrimage  of  Hwen  Thsang  there  was  a  reason  for 
this.  Under  a  splendid  temple-canopy  reposed  in 
marble  a  "  Dead  Prince,"  and  this  circumstance  is  still 
remembered  by  the  natives.  The  ruins  of  this  temple 
can  still  be  traced.     Exactly  four  hundred  and  seventy 


PARABLES  93 

years  before  Christ  the  spot  was  a  jangal  of  6ala- 
trees,  and  beneath  the  shade  of  two  of  these  lay  calm 
and  rigid  the  gentle  teacher  whom  Indians  call  the 
"  Best  Friend  of  all  the  World."  Buddha  was  journey- 
ing from  Kajagriha  when  he  reached  this  resting- 
place.  Its  name  was  Kusinagara.  At  Beluva,  near 
VaiSali,  he  was  attacked  with  a  severe  illness. 
Violent  pains  seized  him.  He  was  very  nearly 
dying.  Ananda  was  disconsolate,  but  Buddha  com- 
forted him. 

"  What  need  hath  the  body  of  my  followers  of  me 
now,  Ananda?  I  have  declared  the  doctrine,  and  I 
have  made  no  distinction  between  within  and  without. 
He  who  says,  '  I  will  rule  over  the  Sangha ! '  or,  '  Let 
the  Sangha  be  subjected  to  me ! '  he,  Ananda,  might 
declare  his  will  in  the  Church.  The  Tathagata,  how- 
ever, does  not  say,  '  I  will  rule  over  the  Church/  ...  I 
am  now  frail,  Ananda ;  I  am  aged,  I  am  an  old  man 
who  has  finished  his  pilgrimage  and  reached  old  age. 
Eighty  years  old  am  I. 

"Be  to  yourselves,  Ananda,  your  own  light,  your 
own  refuge.  Seek  no  other  refuge.  Let  Dharma  be 
your  light  and  refuge.  Seek  no  other  refuge.  .  .  . 
Whosoever  now,  Ananda,  or  after  my  departure,  shall 
be  his  own  light,  his  own  refuge,  and  shall  seek  no 
other  refuge,  will  henceforth  be  my  true  disciple  and 
walk  in  the  right  path." 

Buddha  journeyed  on  until  he  reached  a  place 
called  Pava.  There  he  was  attacked  with  a  grievous 
sickness.  Weary,  the  old  pilgrim  reached  a  stream, 
the  Kakuttha  (the  modern  Badhi,  according  to  General 
Cunningham).  Buddha  bathed  and  sipped  some  of  the 
water ;  carts  were  passing  and  they  thickened  it  with 


94  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

mud.  A  little  farther  on,  by  the  side  of  the  river 
Haranyavati  (Chota  Gandak),  was  a  grove  of  Sala- 
trees.  Between  two  of  these  blossoming  trees  was 
the  Nirvana  that  the  sick  and  weary  pilgrim  was 
sighing  for. 

Under  these  two  famous  trees,  with  his  head  lying 
towards  the  north,  the  old  man  was  laid.  "  Weep  not, 
sorrow  not,  Ananda,"  he  said.  "From  all  that  man 
loves  and  enjoys  he  must  tear  himself. 

"  My  existence  is  ripening  to  its  close.  The  end  of 
my  life  is  near.  I  go  hence.  Ye  remain  behind. 
The  place  of  refuge  is  ready  for  me." x 

Before  expiring,  the  teacher  entered  into  the  ex- 
tasia  of  Samadhi;  and  mighty  thunders  and  earth- 
rockings  announced  the  passing  away  of  a  great 
Chakravartin.     Buddha's  last  words  were  : 

"Hearken,  0  disciples,  I  charge  you.  All  that 
comes  into  being  passes.  Seek  your  salvation  with- 
out weariness." 

iQldeuberg,  Buddha,  p.  199. 


CHAPTER   VI 

AFTER   BUDDHA'S   DEATH 

I  HAVE  found,  after  much  investigation,  and  I  hope  to 
convince  the  reader,  that  the  progress  and  evolution  of 
Buddhism  can  best  be  made  intelligible  by  dividing  its 
advance  into  four  distinct  periods. 

1.  March  of  the  formidable  Parivrdjikas  across 
India.  Their  monasteries  were  trees;  their  temples 
were  forests ;  their  monks'  cowls,  tree  -  bark ;  their 
gospel,  the  inner  light. 

2.  Conversion  of  King  Asoka,  whose  rule  over  India 
was  more  extensive  than  that  of  any  Mogul.  A 
more  official  and  definite  religion  was  required  for 
this  large  empire.     Date  of  King  Asoka,  B.C.  257. 

3.  Rise  of  the  Gospel  of  Flat  Contradiction  and  its 
corollary,  the  worship  of  the  coming  and  dethronement 
of  the  past  Buddha,  two  expedients  considered  necessary 
in  introducing  the  Sunyavddi's  creed,  namely,  that 
men  and  gods,  even  the  highest,  come  from  Nothingness 
or  Suny a,  and  after  a  sickly  dream  of  unreal  worlds 
return  to  Sunya. 

4.  Recoil,  and  rise  of  the  Aiswarikas,  who,  finding 
Buddha's  pedestal  vacant,  set  up  the  "  Eternal  Life 
Buddha"  (Amitdyas  or  Amitdbha),  with  his  eternal 
paradise  (Swkhdvati). 

When   Buddhism   came   to   Europe   it   was    spread 

95 


g6  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

by  a  sort  of  freemasonry.  In  an  early  work  I  sug- 
gested that  perhaps  in  India  a  similar  expedient  may 
have  been  at  starting  adopted.  For  this  I  was  taken 
to  task  in  the  Indian  Antiquary  for  my  "crass 
ignorance."  The  critic  pointed  triumphantly  to  the 
abundant  chronicles  of  the  southern  Buddhists, — but 
are  they  quite  reliable  ?  Let  us  consider  the  narrative 
of  the  early  Buddhist  movement  as  given  by  Professor 
Rhys  Davids  in  his  Birth  Stories. 

Buddha,  as  we  know,  tirst  preached  the  law  in  a 
deer  forest,  about  four  miles  to  the  north  of  the  holy 
city  of  Benares.  The  spot  is  called  Sarnath  (Sarug- 
ganatha,  the  "Lord  of  Deer")  to  this  day.  A3oka 
built  a  splendid  temple  in  this  wilderness.  The  dome 
is  ninety-three  feet  in  diameter,  and  its  imposing 
mass  still  dominates  the  plain.  Pilgrims  from  China 
have  visited  it ;  and  pilgrims  from  all  countries  in  the 
world  go  to  it  still.  It  is  called  Dhamek,  a  corrup- 
tion for  the  Temple  of  Dharma.  Now,  the  Cingalese 
historian,  evidently  writing  long  after  this  temple 
of  Dharma  had  become  famous,  makes  Buddha  put 
up  in  a  fine  temple  and  vihara  in  a  "suburb  of 
Benares"1  during  the  first  rainy  season  after  his 
conversion. 

Benares  was  already  the  most  holy  city  of  the 
Hindoos,  and  yet  it  is  recorded  that  Buddha  preached 
openly  against  the  Brahmin  religion,  and  made  sixty- 
one  converts. 

He  then  proceeded  to  the  powerful  Brahmin  king- 
dom of  Magadha,  and  arrived  at  the  capital,  Rajagriha, 
attended  by  over  a  thousand  followers.  The  king  at 
once  became  a  convert,  with  a  large  proportion  of  his 

1  Buddhist  Birth  Stories,  p.  91. 


AFTER  BUDDHA'S  DEATH  97 

subjects;  and  handed  over  to  Buddha  the  grove  in 
which  the  celebrated  Venuvana  monastery  was  after- 
wards situated.  The  Cingalese  writer  does  not  take 
the  trouble  to  say  a  word  about  the  building  of  it, 
being  evidently  under  an  impression  that  it  was 
already  there.  Five  months  after  Buddha  had  attained 
the  Bodhi,  he  started  off  to  Kapilavastu,  a  distance 
of  sixty  leagues,  to  see  his  father.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  twenty  thousand,  yellow-robed,  shaven 
Bhikshus ;  and  he  marched  along  the  highroads  of 
the  various  Brahmin  kingdoms  that  were  on  his  road 
without  any  molestation.  At  Kapilavastu  he  found 
another  fine  vihara  ready  for  him ;  and  the  bulk  of  the 
nation  and  the  king  became  converts  to  his  religion. 
He  returned  shortly  to  Rajagriha  to  find  a  convenient 
merchant  ready  at  once  to  hand  over  to  him  the  rich 
vihara,  or  monastery,  of  Jetavana  at  Sravasti  (Sahet 
Mahet).  Buddha  went  at  once  to  the  spot;  and  this 
time  the  chronicler  allows  a  vihara  to  be  built,  a  new 
one,  he  again  fancying  apparently  that  one  was  there. 
There  was  "  a  pleasant  room  for  the  sage,"  separate 
apartments  for  "  eighty  elders,"  and  "  other  residences 
with  single  and  double  walls,  and  long  halls  and  open 
roofs  ornamented  with  ducks  and  quails;  and  ponds 
also  he  made,  and  terraces  to  walk  on  by  day  and  by 
night." x 

When  Buddha  arrived  at  Sravasti  this  convent 
was  dedicated  to  him  by  the  merchant,  who  went 
through  a  formula  well  known  in  the  ancient  inscrip- 
tions of  Ceylon.  He  poured  water  out  of  a  bowl, 
and  made  over  the  land  to  the  monks.  Then  a 
gorgeous  festival  took  place,  which  lasted  nine  months. 
1  Buddhist  Birth  Stories,  p.  130. 
7 


98  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

Exactly  five  hundred  and  forty  millions  of  gold  pieces 
were  expended  on  this  feast  and  on  the  convent ; 
so  that  we  may  presume,  I  suppose,  that  most  of  tl it- 
inhabitants  of  the  powerful  Brahmin  kingdom  of  Sra- 
vasti  had  become  converts.  Thus,  in  less  than  a  year, 
Buddha  had  practically  converted  the  Brahmin  king- 
doms that  stretch  from  Sravasti  (Sahet  Mahet)  to  Gaya. 

In  a  word,  his  creed  had  already  won  what  is  called 
the  Holy  Land  of  the  Buddhists. 

Is  all  this  true  ?  Even  by  lopping  off  Eastern  ex- 
aggerations and  accretions,  can  we  reduce  it  in  any 
way  to  a  plausible  story  ?  If  the  Buddhism  set  forth 
by  Dr.  Rhys  Davids,  or  even  by  M.  Barthelemy  St. 
Hilaire,  be  the  real  Buddhism  that  was  preached  by 
Buddha,  I  say  that  the  task  is  impossible.  If  in  the 
holiest  city  of  the  Hindoos,  Buddha  had  proclaimed 
that  there  was  no  God,  and  in  a  complete  and  cate- 
gorical manner  had  announced  that  man  had  no  soul, 
nor  anything  of  any  sort  that  existed  after  death,  the 
cruel  laws  of  the  Brahmins  against  heresy  would  have 
been  put  in  force  against  him.  Dr.  Rhys  Davids 
contends  that  it  is  proved  by  the  Upanishads  that 
"absolute  freedom  of  thought"  existed  in  ancient 
India.1  But  the  Upanishads  were  secret, — he  forgets 
that.  They  were  whispered  to  pupils  who  had  passed 
through  a  severe  probation.  Megasthenes,  the  Greek 
ambassador  to  Patna,  bears  witness  to  this.2 

To  assail  a  Brahmin,  his  privileges  and  class  interests 
was  the  one  sin  in  those  days  for  which  there  was  no 
forgiveness.  We  see  this  from  the  laws  of  Manu. 
Buddha,  in  every  sermon,  assailed  these  root  and 
branch.     He  denounced  the  caste  system,  the  bloody 

1  llibbert  Lectures,  p.  26.  2  Cory.  Ancient  Fragments,  p.  225. 


AFTER  BUDDHA'S  DEATH  99 

sacrifice,  the  use  of  wine  in  the  Soma  sacrifice,  the 
lucrative  pilgrimages.  In  a  word,  the  principal  sources 
of  priestly  revenue  and  ascendency  were  freely  assailed. 

Another  great  difficulty  about  the  early  years  of 
Buddha's  ministry  is  this  monastery  (vihara)  question. 
It  is  plain  that  Dr.  Rhys  Davids'  biography  is  the 
work  either  of  a  pious  knave  giving  the  sanction  of 
Buddha  to  large  donations  for  convents,  processions, 
etc.,  or  of  a  pious  fool  too  dull  to  draw  any  picture 
except  that  of  the  late  and  corrupt  Buddhism  that  was 
under  his  nose.  The  real  question  is,  Did  the  earliest 
disciples  dwell  in  any  vihara  at  all  ? 

From  the  North  we  get  an  important  set  of  Buddhist 
rules  —  the  "  Twelve  Observances."  The  "  Mob  of 
Beggars,"  as  Buddha  called  his  followers,  are  expressly 
forbidden  to  have  any  covering  over  them  except  a 
tree.  Their  "  one  seat "  is  to  be  mother  earth.  Their 
clothes  are  to  be  rags  from  the  dustheap,  the  dung- 
heap,  the  graveyard.  The  tree  that  covers  the  beggar 
must  be,  if  possible,  in  a  graveyard.  He  is  to  be  called 
Durkhrodpa  ("  He  who  lives  in  a  graveyard  ").  He  is 
not  allowed  to  sleep  twice  under  the  same  tree.1 

These  rules,  if  genuine,  put  the  Cingalese  chronicles 
out  of  court.  Let  us  consider  the  vihara  as  an  ap- 
paratus of  propagandism.  Could  it  have  conquered 
India  ?     Could  it  have  conquered  Asia  ? 

Buddha  in  person,  in  Dr.  Rhys  Davids'  translation, 
tells  us  the  functions  of  viharas : 

"  Cold  they  ward  off,  and  heat  ; 
So  also  beasts  of  prey 
And  creeping  things  and  gnats, 
And  rains  in  the  cold  season  ; 

1  Burnouf,  Introd.  pp.  269,  274. 


ioo  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

And  when  the  dreaded  heat  and  winds 

Arise  they  ward  them  off. 

To  give  to  monks  a  dwelling-place 

Wherein  in  safety  and  in  peace 

To  think  till  mysteries  grow  clear, 

The  Buddha  calls  a  worthy  deed. 

Let,  therefore,  a  wise  man, 

Regarding  his  own  weal, 

Have  pleasant  monasteries  built, 

And  lodge  there  learned  men. 

Let  him  with  cheerful  mien 

Give  food  to  them  and  drink, 

And  clothes  and  dwelling-places 

To  the  upright  in  mind. 

Then  shall  they  preach  to  him  the  truth."1 

If  this  translation  of  Dr.  Rhys  Davids  gives  us,  as  it 
professes  to  do,  the  truest  and  most  authentic  account 
available  of  a  vihara  in  the  first  year  of  Buddha's 
preaching,  we  gather  that  the  chief  objects  of  a  vihara 
were: 

1.  To  afford  shelter,  clothes,  food,  and  comfort  to 
a  recluse  whilst  he  developed  his  individual  spirit- 
ualism. 

2.  To  keep  off  from  the  monks  the  floods  of  the 
rainy  season,  the  great  heats  of  the  hot  season, 
the  fiery  blasts  of  the  season  of  the  hot  winds,  and 
the  cold  of  winter.  Moreover,  the  vihara  was  to  be 
"  pleasant." 

Now,  if  the  monk  resided  in  his  vihara  in  the  hot 
season,  and  during  the  rains  and  hot  winds  and  in  the 
cold  season,  it  is  difficult  to  see  when  he  acted  as  mis- 
sionary, for  a  monk  in  a  monastery  is  called  the  silent 
one  (Muni).  In  his  walks  abroad  he  may  present 
his  begging-bowl,  but  must  not  speak.  A  regulation 
1  Birth  Stories,  p.  132. 


AFTER  BUDDHA'S  DEATH     101 

exists  that  the  monk  should  devote  himself  to  silent 
meditation  during  the  rainy  season  ( Varshd) ; x  but 
this  rule  must  have  been  issued  long  subsequent  to 
the  issue  of  the  "  Twelve  Observances,"  as  it  stultifies 
them. 

Vihara  propagandism  may  be  good  for  a  country 
which  is  already  Buddhist;  but  I  fail  to  see  how  it 
could  make  a  country  of  Buddhists.  And  yet  some 
very  active  propagandism  must  have  leavened  India 
from  one  end  to  the  other  before  Asoka  made  Bud- 
dhism the  official  creed.  The  Holy  Land  of  the 
Buddhists  —  and  it  is  to  that  that  Buddha's  own 
preaching  was  almost  completely  confined  —  was  an 
insignificant  portion  of  Asoka's  vast  dominions.  He 
tells  us  that  Gandhara  (Peshawur),  to  the  north, 
and  Chola  and  Pandiya,  the  extreme  southern 
provinces  of  Hindostan,  had  become  converted.  On 
the  extreme  west,  at  Girnar,  near  the  Gulf  of 
Cutch,  a  rock  inscription  was  cut.  On  the  eastern 
coast,  at  Ganjam,  were  the  Dhauli  and  Jaugada  in- 
scriptions. To  Ceylon,  and  to  Bactria,  and  to  Egypt 
the  Buddhist  missionaries,  as  he  announces,  had  also 
gone. 

Bishop  Bigandet's  history,  the  Burmese  scripture, 
gives  a  different  colouring  to  these  early  days.  It 
makes  Buddha  go  not  to  a  suburb  of  Benares,  where 
there  was  a  vihara,  but  to  Mrigadava,  the  "deer 
forest,"  near  Benares.  When  he  leaves  Benares  he 
makes  his  way  towards  the  "  desert  of  Uravilva."  It 
is  under  a  tree  in  a  forest  that  he  is  found  by  the 
profligate  young  men  whom  he  converts  on  his  journey. 
At  Gaya  it  is  on  a  mountain  that  he  preaches.     When 

1  Hwen  Thsang,  Memoires,  vol.  i.  p.  64. 


102  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

he  nears  Rajagriha  he  repairs  to  a  "palm  grove." 
The  king  presents  to  him,  not  the  vihara,  but  the 
"Garden  of  Bamboos"  (Venuvana).  When  he  visits 
Kapilavastu  he  goes  to  the  "  Grove  of  Banyan-Trees," 
and  so  on. 

Buddha's  instructions  also  to  his  disciples  are  more 
in  harmony  with  the  account  given  of  early  Buddhism 
in  the  "  Twelve  Observances "  than  in  the  Cingalese 
version. 

"  A  great  duty  is  yours — to  work  for  the  happiness 
of  men  and  spirits.  Let  us  separate  and  go  each  in 
a  different  direction,  no  two  following  the  same  road. 
Go  and  preach  Dharma." 

At  the  risk  of  getting  a  subtle  thinker  like  Dr. 
Oldenberg  also  charged  with  "  crass  ignorance  "  by  the 
critic  of  the  Indian  Antiquary,  I  must  mention  that 
he  also  considers  that  there  is  little  in  this  portion  of 
Buddha's  life  that  deserves  even  the  name  of  "  tradi- 
tion," but  "merely  collections  of  countless  real  or 
feigned  addresses,  dialogues,  and  sayings  of  Buddha." 
The  doctor  affirms,  also,  that  from  the  Cingalese 
books,  the  "tarrying  of  ascetics  under  trees  might 
be  multiplied  ad  libitum."  Where  else,  he  says, 
could  they  sit  in  Buddha's  time  ?  The  following 
citation  he  gives  from  the  Culahatthi  pado  pama 
sutta : — 

"  He  dwells  in  a  lonely  spot,  in  a  grove,  at  the  foot 
of  a  tree,  on  a  mountain,  in  a  cave,  in  a  mountain 
grotto,  in  a  burialplace,  in  the  wilderness,  under  an 
open  sky,  on  a  heap  of  straw."  That  was  plainly  early 
Buddhism. 

The  Russian  Orientalist,  Wassiljew,  may  here  be 
cited.     He  gives  a  fact  from  a  Chinese  translation  of 


AFTER  BUDDHA'S  DEATH     I03 

a  history,  attributed  to  Daranatha,  the  grandson  of 
Asoka.  Daranatha  announces  that  a  disciple  of  Ananda 
reached  Cashmir.  This  means,  of  course,  covert  propa- 
gandism  at  a  very  early  date. 

In  the  British  Museum  are  the  marbles  of  the 
Amaravati  Tope.  I  see  strangers,  with  puzzled  look, 
stop  before  certain  tablets  that  represent  marble 
worshippers  crouching  before  a  small  throne  or  table 
placed  before  a  marble  tree.  On  the  altar  are  often 
two  footprints.  More  learned  inquirers  have  been 
equally  puzzled.  But  the  recent  exhumation  of  the 
remains  of  the  Stupa  of  Bharhut  (B.C.  250)  has  placed 
the  meaning  of  these  emblems  beyond  the  region  of 
controversy.  Similar  designs  have  been  there  dis- 
covered, and  they  are  furnished  with  explanations 
incised  in  the  Pali  character.  One,  it  is  said,  is  the 
throne  and  tree  of  Kasyapa,  another  the  throne  and 
tree  of  Kanaka  Muni,  and  so  on  through  the  list  of 
the  Seven  Great  Buddhas.  Every  Great  Buddha  has 
his  tree  and  his  worship.  And  here  I  must  mention 
a  curious  piece  of  Chinese-puzzle  adjustment,  which 
shows  how  closely  the  ritual  fits  the  ancient  temple, 
and  the  temple  the  ritual.  In  vol.  xvi.  of  the  Asiatic 
Researches,  Professor  Wilson  gives  a  ritual  from  Nepal, 
called  the  Praise  of  the  Seven  Buddhas  (p.  453). 
Each  Buddha  is  "  adored  "  in  a  separate  paragraph,  and 
it  is  announced  that  he  found  emancipation  under  a 
special  tree.  Comparing  the  list  of  these  trees  with 
that  of  the  Bharhut  Stupa,  as  given  by  General 
Cunningham,1  we  find  that  five  of  the  trees  exactly 
correspond.  The  sixth,  that  of  Visvabhu,  is  obliterated. 
Sakya  Muni's  tree  in  one  list  is  the  asvattha,  and  in 

1  St  it  pa  of  Bharhut,  p.  46. 


104  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

the  other  the  pippala  —  synonyms  for  the  Ficus 
religiosa.  This  seems  to  give  great  antiquity  to  the 
litany. 

I  will  copy  down  one  or  two  of  these  addresses  : 

"  I  adore  Jinendra,  the  consuming  fire  of  sorrow,  the 
treasure  of  holy  knowledge  whom  all  revere,  who  bore 
the  name  of  Vipasvi,  who  was  born  in  the  race  of 
mighty  monarchs  in  the  city  of  Bandumati,  who  was 
for  eighty  thousand  years  the  preceptor  of  gods  and 
men;  and  by  whom,  endowed  with  the  ten  kinds  of 
power,  the  degree  of  Jinendra  was  obtained  at  the  foot 
of  a  patala-tree." 

This  is  the  praise  of  Sakya  Muni : 

"I  adore  Sakya  Simha  the  Buddha,  the  kinsman 
of  the  sun,  worshipped  by  men  and  gods,  who  was 
born  at  the  splendid  city  Kapilapura,  of  the  family 
of  the  chief  of  the  Sakya  kings,  the  life  of  which 
best  friend  to  all  the  world  lasted  one  hundred  years. 
Having  speedily  subdued  desire,  unbounded  wisdom 
was  acquired  by  him  at  the  foot  of  the  asvattha- 
tree."1 

We  now  come  to  a  valuable  piece  of  testimony, 
that  of  a  Greek  visiting  India.  Seleucus  Nicator 
sent  an  ambassador,  named  Megasthenes,  to  King 
Chandragupta  (B.C.  302-298).  He  visited  that 
monarch  at  his  capital,  Palibothra,  or  Patna.  His 
account  of  the  India  of  that  day  is  unfortunately 
lost;  but  through  Diodorus  Siculus,  Strabo,  Arrian, 
and  Clement  of  Alexandria,  some  valuable  fragments 
have  come  down  to  us.  Patna,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, was  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Buddhist  Holy 
Land.      Clement  of  Alexandria  cites  a  passage  from 

1  Asiatic  Researches,  xvi.  p.  454. 


AFTER  BUDDHA'S  DEATH  105 

Megasthenes  On  Indian  Affairs.  On  the  same  page 
he  thus  describes  the  Indian  "  philosophers  "  : — 

"  Of  these  there  are  two  classes,  some  of  them  called 
Sarmanae  and  others  Brahmins.  And  those  of  the 
Sarmange  who  are  called  Hylobii  neither  inhabit  cities 
nor  have  roofs  over  them,  but  are  clothed  in  the  bark 
of  trees,  feed  on  nuts,  and  drink  water  in  their  hands. 
Like  those  called  Encratites  in  the  present  day,  they 
know  not  marriage  nor  begetting  of  children.  Some, 
too,  of  the  Indians  obey  the  precepts  of  Buddha,  whom, 
on  account  of  his  extraordinary  sanctity,  they  have 
raised  to  divine  honours." 

The  importance  of  this  passage  is  this,  that  from 
Strabo  we  get  the  description  given  by  Megasthenes 
of  the  Indian  philosophers,  and  it  is  made  certain  that 
the  earlier  part  of  this  passage  is  from  the  same  source. 

Strabo  describes  the  Brahmins  and  the  "  Germanes," 
also  called,  he  says,  "Hylobii."  He  gives  the  same 
details  as  Clement  of  Alexandria  about  their  feeding 
on  wild  fruits  and  wearing  the  bark  of  trees.  He, 
too,  draws  a  distinction  between  the  Germanes  and 
the  Brahmins  on  the  subject  of  continency,  the 
Brahmins  being  polygamists. 

From  this  it  seems  certain  that  Clement  of 
Alexandria  was  writing  with  the  original  work  of 
Megasthenes  before  him.  We  may  therefore  con- 
clude that  this  passage  about  Buddha,  sandwiched 
as  it  is  between  two  genuine  citations,  was  also 
in  Megasthenes.  Strabo  has  handed  down  to  us 
another  statement  of  Megasthenes  about  the 
Hylobii : 

"By  their  means  the  kings  serve  and  worship  the 
Deity." 


io6  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Sarmanes  (Sra- 
niauas)  and  Brahmins  of  Megasthenes  were  the 
Brahmins  and  the  Buddhists.  To  the  first,  accord- 
ing to  Megasthenes,  were  confided  sacrifices  and 
ceremonies,  for  the  dead  as  well  as  the  living. 
They  were  a  caste  apart,  and  none  outside  this  caste 
could  perform  their  duties.  The  gods  would  not 
accept  the  sacrifices  of  such  an  interloper.  Their 
ideas  on  life  and  death  were  very  similar  to  those 
of  Plato  and  the  Greeks.  The  Brahmins  ate  flesh 
and  had  many  wives.  Every  new  year  there  was 
a  great  synod  of  them.  They  dwelt  in  groves 
near  the  great  cities,  on  "couches  of  leaves  and 
skins." 

The  Hylobii,  on  the  other  hand,  insisted  on  abso- 
lute continence,  and  strict  vegetarianism  and  water- 
drinking.  Clitarchus  gives  us  an  additional  fact. 
Megasthenes,  we  learn  from  him,  has  also  recorded 
that  the  Hylobii  "derided  the  Brahmins." 

The  Fikst  Convocation 

Buddha  died  miserably  under  a  tree,  but,  according 
to  Buddhaghosa,  there  were  near  Rajagriha  at  the 
moment  of  his  death  eighteen  great  monasteries 
"  filled  with  rubbish."  The  monks  determined  to 
repair  these  great  monasteries,  and  they  went  to  the 
King  of  Rajagriha  and  said  to  him:  "Maharaja,  we 
propose  to  hold  a  great  convocation  on  religion  and 
discipline.  On  the  Webhara  Mountain  is  a  cave 
■called  Sattapanni.  Be  graciously  pleased  to  prepare 
that  cave  for  us ! " 

The  king  at  once  gave  orders  that  a  mighty  cave- 


AFTER  BUDDHA'S  DEATH  107 

temple  should  be  scooped  out  of  the  rock.  A  "  hall," 
with  "pillars"  and  "walls,"  was  executed  as  if  by 
the  hand  of  Visvakarma,  the  architect  of  heaven. 
"Flights  of  steps,  embellished  with  representa- 
tions of  festoons  of  flowers  and  of  flower  -  creepers, 
rivalling  the  splendour  of  the  decorations  of  his 
palace,  and  imitating  the  magnificence  of  the  man- 
sions of  the  devas,"  were  constructed.  Five  hundred 
carpeted  seats  were  prepared  for  the  monks,  and  a 
pulpit  for  the  principal.  A  preaching  desk,  "  for  the 
sanctified  Buddha  himself,"  in  the  centre  of  the  hall 
facing  the  east,  was  erected,  and  an  ivory  fan  placed 
upon  it.  This  incident  shows,  I  think,  that  the  early 
sermon-monger  was  supposed  to  get  his  inspiration 
direct  from  the  dead  Tathagata. 

In  two  months  this  great  cave-temple  was  com- 
pleted ;  and  the  monks  were  summoned.  A  difficulty 
arose  about  Ananda,  who  had  not  acquired  the 
miraculous  powers  that  stamp  the  adept  in  the  know- 
ledge of  Prajfia  Paramita,  the  wisdom  of  the  unseen 
world.  Thus,  as  first  constituted,  the  convocation 
consisted  of  499  members,  and  a  vacant  carpet  was 
spread  for  Ananda.  During  the  night  he  meditated 
on  the  Kayagasta  Satiya,  and  in  the  morning 
these  powers  came;  and  in  proof  he  reached 
his  seat  through  the  medium  of  the  floor  of  the 
temple. 

Maha  Kasyapa  was  the  chief  Therd,  and  he 
opened  the  proceedings  by  requesting  Upali  to 
detail  Buddha's  injunctions  on  discipline.  Upali 
before  answering  sat  in  the  pulpit  of  Buddha,  and 
held  the  mystic  ivory  fan.  Three  hundred  and  four 
Sikkhapadini   on  form   and   rites   were  wearily  gone 


108  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

through.  After  Upali  detailed  each  section  the  monks 
at  once  chanted  it  forth.  When  Upali  took  the  mystic 
fan  in  his  hand  the  mighty  earth  quaked.  As  the 
narrative  announces  that  this  was  done  to  give  the 
assembly  a  greeting  similar  to  the  one  that  Buddha 
used  to  give  his  Arhats,  I  think  the  idea  plainly 
was  that,  instead  of  being  annihilated,  the  great 
teacher  was  present,  obsessing  Upali  in  his  chair. 
After  Upali  had  revealed  all  that  he  recollected  from 
Buddha's  lips  on  the  subject  of  discipline,  Ananda 
stepped  into  the  "pulpit  of  the  sanctified  Buddha 
himself,"  and  detailed  all  the  utterances  that  he 
could  call  to  mind  about  Dharma.  The  Northern 
account  gives  to  Ananda  the  Sutras,  and  to  Kasyapa 
the  department  of  Prajfla  Paramita,  or  Dharma. 
The  convocation  sat  for  seven  months.  Earthquakes 
and  other  miracles  greeted  its  finish. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  we  are  here  in  the  presence 
of  a  piece  of  pure  history.  The  details  of  the  great 
cave-temple  with  its  mats,  pulpits,  ivory  fan,  chanting 
monks,  etc.,  are  too  lifelike  to  be  absolute  invention. 
The  incident  of  the  eighteen  tumbledown  viharas 
filled  with  rubbish  but  hastily  got  ready  is  not  the 
sort  of  incident  that  would  have  suggested  itself  to  a 
Cingalese  writer  of  fiction.  The  Mahawanso,  describ- 
ing the  great  banquets  during  Asoka's  inauguration, 
announces  that  elks,  wild  hogs,  and  winged  game 
came  to  the  king's  kitchen  of  their  own  accord,  and 
then  expired ;  that  parrots  daily  brought  nine  hundred 
thousand  loads  of  hill  paddy,  and  mice  husking  that 
hill  paddy  converted  it  into  rice.  The  fine  fancy  of 
a  Cingalese  historian,  if  left  to  itself,  would  have  gone 
oft*  into  similar  flights. 


AFTER  BUDDHA'S  DEATH     109 

But  if  the  convocation  described  is  a  bond  fide 
convocation,  it  cannot  be  the  first  convocation  of  the 
Cingalese  records ;  nor  yet  the  second,  nor  even 
the  third.  The  cave,  which  is  thought  to  be  the 
Sattapanni  cave  (though  its  identity  is  questioned 
by  Mr.  Fergusson),  is.  according  to  that  authority, 
a  natural  cave  "slightly  improved  by  art."1  In 
Asoka's  day  the  cave  -  temple  was  a  small  cave 
without  sculpture,  and  with  merely  a  polished  roof. 
Even  in  Kaniska's  day  there  was  no  cave-temple  of 
the  gorgeous  pattern  here  described.  This  gives  a 
very  modern  date  to  the  narrative.  It  gives  us,  I 
think,  without  any  doubt,  some  details  of  Kaniska's 
convocation.  Observe  that  the  number  of  monks  in 
Kaniska's  convocation,  and  the  number  of  monks  in 
the  first  convocation  as  recorded  by  Buddhaghosa,  are 
in  each  case  exactly  499.  In  each  case,  also,  this  is 
made  up  to  500  by  a  monk  performing  a  miracle. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  if,  in  the  third  or 
fourth  century  of  our  era,  a  writer  in  Ceylon  were 
drawing  up  a  history  of  the  convocations,  the  details 
of  the  last  one  would  naturally  be  the  most  prominent 
in  his  mind.  He  would  see  the  panorama  of  history 
reversed.  The  last  convocation  would  be  clear,  the 
second  and  first  dim  and  shadowy.  I  must  point  out, 
too,  that  the  incident  of  the  chanting  monks  could 
not  have  taken  place,  as  described  in  the  Ceylon 
books.  It  would  be  quite  impossible  to  get  500 
monks  to  learn  by  heart  a  voluminous  canon,  four 
times  as  long  as  our  Bible,  in  the  time  given.  Two 
contradictory  narratives  have  been  made  use  of — a 
story  similar  to  the  Northern  story,  which  announced 
1  Indian  Architecture,  p.  108. 


no  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

that  three  disciples  collected  the  scanty  scraps  of  the 
remembered  precepts  of  Buddha  three  months  after 
his  death,  and  a  narrative  of  Kaniska's  convocation, 
which  would  have  had  the  incident  of  the  chanting 
monks.  At  that  period  they  could  have  sung  out 
all  the  canonical  books,  as  they  knew  them  by 
heart. 

But  the  evidence  that  Buddhaghosa's  account  of 
the  first  convocation  has  been  largely  made  up  from 
details  of  Kanaka's  convocation  is  by  no  means 
exhausted.  The  chief  individual  work  discussed 
was  the  Brahmajala  Sutra.  Maha  Kasyapa,  the 
president,  asked  Ananda  which  Sutra  should  be  first 
considered. 

"Lord,  the  Brahmajala  Sutra,"  said  Ananda. 
"Let  us  then  rehearse  first  that  Sutra,"  said  the 
president,  "  which  triumphed  over  the  various  heretical 
faiths  sustained  by  hypocrisy  and  fraud,  which  un- 
ravelled the  doctrinal  issue  of  the  sixty-two  heterodox 
sects,  and  shook  the  earth  together  with  its  ten 
thousand  component  parts."  When  Ananda  had 
explained  all  about  this  Sutra,  the  earth  rocked. 
"All  the  thirteen  Sutras,"  says  the  narrative,  "were 
then  rehearsed  in  the  prescribed  forms." 

This  little  passage  lets  the  cat  quite  out  of  the  bag. 
The  Brahmajala  Sutra  is  the  Bible  of  Pyrrho-Bud- 
dhism.  M.  de  Remusat,1  in  his  translation  of  Fa  Hian's 
Voyages,  announces  that  it  is  called  a  Mahayana 
tractate  by  Hoa  Yen,  the  leading  Chinese  authority 
on  the  Great  Vehicle  literature.  Mr.  Bunyiu  Nanjio, 
the  accomplished  Japanese  scholar  recently  employed 
at  the  India  Office  to  draw  up  a  catalogue  of  the 
1  Pilgrimage  of  Fa  Hian,  p.  108,  note. 


AFTER  BUDDHA'S  DEATH 


1 1 1 


Buddhist  scriptures,  also  pronounces  it  to  belong  to 
the  literature  of  the  Mahayana  movement.  This 
might  have  thrown  some  suspicion  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  were  making  it  the  brief  for  their  great 
impeachment  of  Buddha. 

The  facts  here  stated,  if  placed  in  two  parallel 
columns,  will  make  more  convincing  still  our  con- 
clusion that  the  story  of  the  first  convocation  is  a 
dishonest  fiction  invented  to  give  the  authority  of 
age  to  the  Brahmajala  Sutra. 

Convocation  of  King  Kaniska, 
a.d.  16. 


Convocation  of  lidjdgriha, 
B.C.  470. 

Had  499  members  and  a  vacant 
seat. 

Excluded  monk  performs  a  silly 
miracle. 

He  is  admitted  and  made  chief 
instructor  of  the  Assembly. 

Council  triumphs  over  "sixty- 
two  heretical  sects." 

Approves  of  Pyrrho-Buddhism 
as  set  forth  in  the  Brahmajala 
Sutra. 


Had  499  members  and  a  vacant 
seat. 

Excluded  monk  performs  a  silly 
miracle. 

He  is  admitted  and  made  chief 
instructor  of  the  Assembly. 

Council  triumphs  over  number- 
less heretics. 

Called  together,  especially  to 
establish  Pyrrho-Buddhism. 


The  Second  Convocation 

Of  this  convocation  we  need  not  say  much.  There 
is  nothing  about  it  in  the  Northern  records,  and  Mr. 
Tumour,  in  vol.  vi.  of  the  Journal  of  the  Bengal 
Asiatic  Society,  gives  good  reasons  for  believing  that 
its  record  is  a  simple  fiction  invented  by  Buddhaghosa. 
It  is  said  to  have  occurred  at  Vaisali  one  hundred 
years  after  the  first  (that  is,  B.C.  370),  or  about  seventy 
years  before  Megasthenes  visited  Patna,  a  spot  about 


ii2  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

twenty  miles  from  Vaisali.  The  chief  point  debated 
was  whether  monks  living  in  sumptuous  monasteries 
might  or  might  not  have  fringes  to  their  couches. 
The  monks  in  those  regions  at  the  date  of  Megas- 
thenes  had  couches  of  mother  earth  fringed  only  with 
thistles. 


CHAPTER    VII 

KING  ASOKA 

In  Buddha  Gaya,  in  the  year  B.C.  520,  Buddha  sat 
under  a  pippala  tree  dreaming  of  a  Dharma  Raj. 
We  have  all  our  visions  at  times  of  this  Dharma  Raj, 
a  bright  kingdom  of  Dreamland  where  wrong  is 
righted;  but  who,  like  Buddha,  sees  his  dream  made 
concrete  ? 

Buddha  sat  under  the  renowned  Ficus  religiosa, 
B.C.  520.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  this 
appeared  King  Asoka  and  the  Dharma  Rdj. 

Asoka,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  succeeded  to  the 
throne  of  Patna.  His  brothers  raised  troops,  and 
sought  to  upset  him.  After  a  sharp  struggle  he  over- 
came them,  and  treated  them  with  the  usual  mercy  of 
Asiatics  towards  brothers  near  the  throne.  He  was 
the  grandson  of  Sandrocottus,  who  was  placed  on  the 
throne  by  Brahmin  intrigue.  Asoka  was  at  first  a 
pious  Brahmin,  and  50,000  Brahmins  were  fed  by  him 
daily.  Also  he  was  a  capable  soldier,  for  he  conquered 
more  Indian  territory  than  Clive,  Lake,  Wellington,  and 
Napier,  if  they  were  to  sum  up  the  area  of  their 
united  conquests. 

But  after  his  consecration  he  had  several  conversa- 
tions with  a  Buddhist  monk  named  Nigrauda.  Much 
interested  in  Buddha,  he  received  eagerly  the  details  of 
8 


H4  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

his  life  and  teaching.  Soon  the  king  was  converted, 
and  he  made  Buddhism  the  State  religion. 

Shortly  before  this,  according  to  the  calculations  of 
Sir  Alexander  Cunningham  and  Professor  Max  Miiller, 
India  received  the  letters  of  the  alphabet.  The  gift 
was  happily  timed,  because  the  first  use  made  of  it  was 
to  scratch  ideas  on  rocks  and  stones.  In  the  year 
B.C.  251,  King  Asoka  incised  his  earliest  rock  edict. 
He  soon  issued  a  great  many  more.  Some  idea  of  the 
extent  of  his  rule  and  the  spread  of  Buddhism  may  be 
gained  from  the  fact  that  on  the  extreme  west  of 
India  he  cut  a  rock  inscription  at  Girnar  on  the  Gulf  of 
Cutch.  On  the  east  coast,  at  Ganjam,  were  the  Dhauli 
and  Jaugada  edicts  ;  and  Gandhara,  or  Peshawur,  was 
reached  in  the  north;  and  Chola  and  Pandiya,  the 
extreme  southern  provinces  of  India,  as  I  have  said 
before. 

I  have  said  that  it  was  a  fortunate  circumstance 
that  the  rude  expedient  was  adopted  of  cutting  the 
edicts  on  stone,  because  innovators  cannot  treat  stone 
edicts  like  manuscripts  on  plantain  leaves  ;  and  we  get 
at  once  an  opportunity  of  finding  out  at  least  what 
Buddha's  disciples  thought  about  God,  spirit,  and 
man's  future. 


King  Asoka's  Ideas  about  God 

"Much  longing  after  the  things  [of  this  life]  is  a 
disobedience,  I  again  declare;  not  less  so  is  the 
laborious  ambition  of  dominion  by  a  prince  who  would 
be  a  propitiator  of  Heaven.  Confess  and  believe  in 
God  [Isana],  who  is  the  worthy  object  of  obedi- 
ence.    For  equal  to  this   [belief],  I  declare  unto  you, 


KING  ASOKA  115 

ye  shall  not  find  such  a  means  of  propitiating 
Heaven.  Oh,  strive  ye  to  obtain  this  inestimable 
treasure."  1 

"Thus  spake  King  Devanampiya  Piyadasi:  The 
present  moment  and  the  past  have  departed  under  the 
same  ardent  hopes.  How  by  the  conversion  of  the 
royal  born  may  religion  be  increased  ?  Through  the 
conversion  of  the  lowly  born  if  religion  thus  increaseth, 
by  how  much  [more]  through  the  conviction  of  the 
high  born  and  their  conversion  shall  religion  increase  ? 
Among  whomsoever  the  name  of  God  resteth,  verily 
this  is  religion." 

"Thus  spake  Devanampiya  Piyadasi:  Wherefore 
from  this  very  hour  I  have  caused  religious  discourses 
to  be  preached.  I  have  appointed  religious  observances 
that  mankind,  having  listened  thereto,  shall  be  brought 
to  follow  in  the  right  path,  and  give  glory  to  God." 2 

"  It  is  well  known,  sirs,  to  what  lengths  have  gone 
my  respect  for  and  faith  in  Buddha,  Dharma,  Safigha."  3 

"Whatever  words  have  been  spoken  by  the  divine 
Buddha,  they  have  all  been  well  said."  4 

"And  he  who  acts  in  conformity  with  this  edict 
shall  be  united  with  Sugato."  5 

"  The  white  elephant,  whose  name  is  The  Bringer  of 
Happiness  to  the  Whole  World."  6 

Isana  is  the  name  that  has  been  selected  by  the 
Sanskrit  scholars  employed  recently  in  translating 
"  God  save  the  Queen."  Buddha,  Dharma,  and  Saiigha 
make   up   the   Buddhist   Trinity,   which   is   precisely 

1  First  Separate  Edict,  Dhauli,  Priusep. 

2  Edict  No.  VII.,  Prinsep.  3  Second  Bairat  Rock,  Burnouf. 
4  Second  Bairat  Rock,  Wilson.          5  Delhi  Pillar,  Prinsep. 

6  Final  Sentence  of  the  Rock  Edicts,  Kern. 


n6  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

similar  to  that  of  Philo  and  the  Gnostics.  Buddha  is 
spirit ;  Dharma,  matter ;  Sangha,  ideal  humanity,  the 
Christ.  They  figure  together  as  three  beings  in  the 
sculptures  of  Buddha  Gaya,  one  of  Asoka's  temples. 
Later  on  they  got  also  to  mean  Buddha,  his  law  and 
his  monks. 

Asoka  on  a  Future  Life 

"  On  the  many  beings  over  whom  I  rule  I  confer 
happiness  in  this  world ;  in  the  next  they  may  obtain 
Swarga  [paradise]."  1 

"  This  is  good.  With  these  means  let  a  man  seek 
Swarga.  This  is  to  be  done.  By  these  means  it  is  to  be 
done,  as  by  them  Swarga  [paradise]  is  to  be  gained."  2 

"  I  pray  with  every  variety  of  prayer  for  those  who 
differ  with  me  in  creed,  that  they,  following  after  my 
example,  may  with  me  attain  unto  eternal  salvation."  3 

"  And  whoso  doeth  this  is  blessed  of  the  inhabitants 
of  this  world ;  and  in  the  next  world  endless  moral 
merit  resulteth  from  such  religious  charity." 4 

"  Unto  no  one  can  be  repentance  and  peace  of  mind 
until  he  hath  obtained  supreme  knowledge,  perfect 
faith,  which  surmounteth  all  obstacles,  and  perpetual 
assent."  5 

"  In  the  tenth  year  of  his  anointment,  the  beloved 
King  Piyadasi  obtained  the  Sambodhi,  or  complete 
knowledge."  6 

"  All  the  heroism  that  Piyadasi,  the  beloved  of  the 
gods,  has  exhibited  is  in  view  of  another  life.  Earthly 
glory  brings  little  profit,  but,  on  the  contrary,  produces 

1  Edict  VI.,  Wilson.  2  Edict  IX.,  Wilson. 

3  Delhi  Pillar,  Edict  VI.,  Prinsep.     4  Edict  XL,  Prinsep. 
5  Rock  Edict,  No.  VII.,  Prinsep.       6  Rock  Edict,  No.  VII.,  Burnouf. 


KING  ASOKA  117 

a  loss  of  virtue.  To  toil  for  heaven  is  difficult  to 
peasant  and  to  prince,  unless  by  a  supreme  effort  he 
gives  up  all." x 

"  May  they  [my  loving  subjects]  obtain  happiness  in 
this  world  and  in  the  next." 2 

"  The  beloved  of  the  gods  speaketh  thus  :  It  is  more 
than  thirty-two  years  and  a  half  that  I  am  a  hearer  of 
the  law,  and  I  did  not  exert  myself  strenuously ;  but 
it  is  a  year  or  more  that  I  have  entered  the  communitj^ 
of  ascetics,  and  that  I  have  exerted  myself  strenuously. 
Those  gods  who  during  this  time  were  considered  to  be 
true  gods  in  Jambudvipa  have  now  been  abjured.  .  .  . 
A  small  man  who  exerts  himself  somewhat  can  gain 
for  himself  great  heavenly  bliss,  and  for  this  purpose 
this  sermon  has  been  preached.  Both  great  ones  and 
small  ones  should  exert  themselves,  and  should  in  the 
end  gain  [true]  knowledge.  And  this  manner  of  act- 
ing should  be  what?  Of  long  duration!  For  the 
spiritual  good  will  grow  the  growth,  and  will  grow 
exceedingly;  at  the  least  it  will  grow  one  size  and 
a  half. 

"  This  sermon  has  been  preached  by  the  departed. 

"  Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  have  elapsed  since  the 
departure  of  the  teacher."  3 


Mysticism 

Did  early  Buddhism  "  relegate  mysticism  to  the 
regions  of  fairy-tale,"  as  some  have  asserted  ? 

"There  is  no  such  charity  as  the  charity  which 
springeth  from  virtue    [Dharma],  which   is  the   inti- 

1  Rock  Edict,  No.  X.,  Burnouf.       2  Second  Separate  Edict,  Burnouf* 
3  Rupnath  Rock,  Biihler. 


n8  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

mate  knowledge  of  virtue  [Dharma],  the  inheritance 
of  virtue  [Dharma],  the  close  union  with  virtue 
[Dharma]."  1 

"The  beloved  of  the  gods,  King  Piyadasi,  honours 
all  forms  of  religious  faith,  whether  professed  by 
ascetics  [pavajitani]  or  householders  [gahathani]."  2 

"Whatever  villages  with  their  inhabitants  may  be 
given  or  maintained  for  the  sake  of  the  worship,  the 
devotees  shall  receive  the  same;  and  for  an  example 
unto  my  people,  they  shall  exercise  solitary  auster- 
ities."3 

"  And  he  who  acts  in  conformity  with  this  edict 
shall  be  united  with  Sugato."  4 

Dharma  has  been  translated  "  the  Law,"  "  Virtue," 
"  Thought,"  "  Righteousness,"  by  various  scholars.  Let 
the  Buddhists  give  their  own  translation  in  their 
ritual.  "  I  salute  that  Dharma  who  is  Prajnd  Pdra- 
mitd  (the  Wisdom  of  the  Other  Bank)." 5 

Now,  it  seems  easy  enough  for  bishops  and  Boden 
Professors  of  Sanskrit  to  explain  away  Buddha.  He 
was  an  atheist.  He  "professed  to  know  nothing  of 
spirit  as  distinct  from  bodily  organism."6  He  had 
"no  religion"  (p.  xxviii);  "no  prayer"  (p.  xxviii); 
no  "idea  of  original  sin"  (p.  114).  He  had  no  real 
morality,  merely  "  monk  morality  "  (p.  125).  He  "  could 
not  inculcate  piety"  (p.  124).  All  these  state- 
ments may  be  and  are  accepted  by  many  readers, 
but  how  are  we  to  explain  away  Asoka  ?  A  king  who 
professed  to  be  specially  Buddha's  pupil,  and  by  the  aid 

1  Edict  XII.,  Prinsep.  2  Rock  Edict,  No.  XII. ,  Wilson. 

3  Delhi  Pillar,  Edict  IV.,  Prinsep. 

4  Delhi  Pillar,  Prinsep.  5  Baptismal  Ritual  of  Nepal. 
c  Sir  Monier  Monier-Williams,  Buddhism,  p.  105. 


KING  AgOKA  119 

of  a  chisel  and  hard  stone  has  placed  beyond  a  doubt 
what  he  thought  upon  the  subject  of  Buddha's  religion. 
Could  Cartouche  build  up  a  Fenelon  ?  Could  a  Wilber- 
force  develop  himself  prompted  chiefly  by  a  robust 
admiration  of  the  president  of  the  Hell-Fire  Club  ? 

It  may  be  confidently  affirmed  that  there  is  nothing 
in  the  world's  history  like  the  Ifliarma  Raj  of  King 
Asoka.  Imagine  Napoleon  and  Fenelon  rolled  into 
one.  He  antedates  Wilberforce  in  the  matter  of 
slavery.  He  antedates  Howard  in  his  humanity 
towards  prisoners.  He  antedates  Tolstoi  in  his  desire 
to  turn  the  sword  into  a  pruning-hook.  He  antedates 
Kousseau,  St.  Martin,  Fichte,  in  their  wish  to  make 
interior  religion  the  all  in  all. 

Here  are  two  passages  from  his  edicts  that  go  beyond 
anything  to  be  seen  in  any  modern  State. 

"Piyadasi,  the  friend  of  the  Devas,  attaches  less 
importance  to  alms  and  outside  rites  than  to  his  desire 
to  witness  the  spread  of  interior  religion."  1 

"  Progress  in  Dharma  may  be  obtained  in  two 
manners — by  formal  rules,  and  by  the  feelings  that  they 
help  to  arouse  in  the  heart.  In  this  double  influence 
the  first  has  a  very  inferior  value,  the  inner  quickening 
is  what  is  really  important."  2 

This  is  what  he  would  have  said  at  the  Czar's  Peace 
Congress : 

"  Piyadasi,  the  friend  of  the  Devas,  values  alone  the 
harvest  of  the  next  world.  For  this  alone  has  this 
inscription  been  chiselled,  that  our  sons  and  our  grand- 
sons should  make  no  new  conquests.  Let  them  not 
think  that  conquests  by  the  sword  merit  the  name  of 
conquests.      Let  them   see  their  ruin,  confusion,  and 

1  Edict  XIII.,  Senart.  -  Delhi  Pillar,  Edict  VIII.,  Senart. 


120  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

violence.     True  conquests  alone  are  the  conquests  of 
Dharma."  1 

Other  Reforms 

"  Formerly,  in  the  great  refectory  and  temple  of 
King  Piyadasi,  the  friend  of  the  Devas,  many  hundred 
thousand  animals  were  daily  sacrificed  for  the  sake  of 
food  meat,  .  .  .  but  now  the  joyful  chorus  resounds 
again  and  again  that  henceforward  not  a  single  animal 
shall  be  put  to  death."  2 

"  If  a  man  is  subject  to  slavery  and  ill-treatment, 
from  this  moment  he  shall  be  delivered  by  the  king 
from  this  and  other  captivity.  Many  men  in  this 
country  suffer  in  captivity,  therefore  the  stupa  con- 
taining the  commands  of  the  king  has  been  a  great 
want."  8 

But  King  Asoka's  Edicts  throw  a  strong  light  upon 
one  very  important  point  indeed — the  date  of  the  rise 
of  monks  in  the  sense  of  housed  sedentary  idlers. 
This  point  I  myself  have  overlooked  in  my  early 
examination  of  these  inscriptions. 

Asoka's  word  for  the  Buddhist  monks  is  Pavajitdni. 
This  means  houseless  ascetics.  The  Sanskrit  word 
for  a  monastery  is  Saughardma,  the  Garden  of  the 
Monks.  In  point  of  fact,  in  the  earliest  days  the 
monastery  was  a  forest. 

"  Everywhere  the  heaven  -  beloved  Raja  Piyadasi's 
double  system  of  medical  aid  is  established,  both 
medical  aid  for  man  and  medical  aid  for  animals.  .  .  . 
And  wherever  there  is  not  such  provision,  in  all  such 
places  it   is  to   be   prepared   and   planted,   both   root 

1  Edict  No.  XIV.,  Senart.  2  Rock  Edict,  No.  I.,  Prinsep. 

3  Dliauli  Edict,  No.  I.,  Prinsep. 


KING  ASOKA  121 

drugs  and  herbs.  Wheresover  there  is  not  a  provision 
of  them,  in  all  such  places  shall  they  be  deposited 
and  planted.  And  in  the  public  highways  wells  are 
to  be  dug  and  trees  to  be  planted  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  men  and  animals." 

If  we  call  to  mind  that  in  Buddhist  countries  like 
Tibet  the  monasteries  are  still  the  only  hostelries, 
and  the  monks  the  only  doctors,  it  is  plain  that  the 
trees  here  mentioned  to  be  planted  along  the  high-road 
are  for  sacred  groves  or  Saughardmas. 

Here  is  another  inscription  : 

'•  Whenever  devotees  shall  abide  around  or  circum- 
ambulate the  holy  fig-tree  for  the  performance  of 
pious  acts,  the  benefit  and  pleasure  of  the  country 
and  its  inhabitants  shall  be  in  making  offerings,  and 
according  to  their  generosity  or  otherwise  they  shall 
enjoy  prosperity  or  adversity ;  and  they  shall  give 
thanks  for  the  coming  of  the  faith.  Whatever 
villages  with  their  inhabitants  may  be  given  or 
maintained  for  the  sake  of  the  worship,  the  devotees 
shall  receive  the  same,  and  for  the  example  of  my 
people  they  shall  exercise  solitary  austerities.  And 
likewise  whatever  blessings  they  shall  pronounce,  by 
these  shall  my  devotees  accumulate  for  the  worship. 
Furthermore,  the  people  in  the  night  shall  attend 
the  great  myrobalan-tree  and  the  holy  fig-tree.  My 
people  shall  accumulate  the  great  myrobalan-tree 
(Terminalia  cliebula).  My  devotees  doing  thus 
for  the  pleasure  and  profit  of  the  village,  whereby 
they,  coming  around  the  beauteous  and  holy  fig-tree, 
may  cheerfully  abide  in  the  performance  of  pious 
acts."  1 

1  Delhi  Pillar,  Edict  IV.,  Prinsep. 


122  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

If  we  put  two  and  two  together,  these  passages 
throw  light  on  the  monastery  question  at  the  date  of 
Asoka.  The  Saughardma  was  a  holy  grove  with  an 
adjoining  village.  The  grove  was  peopled  with  as- 
cetics, performing  their  dreamy  yoga  under  trees  "  for 
the  benefit  of  the  village."  These  seem  very  different, 
at  first  sight,  from  Buddha's  Parivrdjikas,  who  were 
not  allowed  to  stay  more  than  one  night  in  one  place, 
but  Buddha's  commands  were  probably  addressed  to 
fully  enlightened  Bhikshus,  not  postulants. 

We  must  bear  in  mind  the  problem  that  Asoka  had 
to  solve  : 

1.  Having  conquered  India,  he  required  a  vast  army 
of  enlightened  Bhikshus  to  wean  it  to  Buddhism. 

2.  This  vast  army  had  to  be  fed.  Hence  the  vil- 
lages and  the  daily  food  offerings  to  the  Muni,  then 
and  now  the  crucial  virtue  of  the  laity.  Hence  the 
very  extensive  plantations  of  mangoes,  banyan-trees, 
etc.    Some  verses  in  the  Sutta  Nipdta  illustrate  Asoka : 

"  Let  the  Muni,  after  going  about  for  alms,  repair  to 
the  outskirt  of  the  wood.  Let  him  sit  down  near  the 
root  of  a  tree."  * 

The  Eighth  Edict  of  Asoka  talks  of  the  mango 
groves  and  the  banyan-trees  that  the  king  had  planted 
along  the  roads  of  his  dominions.  The  Queen's  Edict 
on  the  Allahabad  led  announces  that  her  gifts  of 
mango  gardens,  etc.,  are  religious  gifts  to  be  credited 
to  her.  The  inscriptions  show,  moreover,  that  the 
worship  in  these  simple  times  was  imposing  and 
grand.  It  was  night  worship  in  a  leafy  cathedral, 
with   the   stars    of    heaven   as   lamps.     Three   grand 

1  Nalaka  Sutta,  v.  708.  "Trees,  caves,  and  graveyards"  are  said  to 
be  his  home  in  that  early  work. 


KING  ASOKA  123 

festivals  were  appointed  by  the  king,  dependent  on 
the  lunar  mansion  Tishya.  Again,  we  have  night- 
worship  "  torches,"  "  elephants,"  "  processions,"  and 
other  "  celestial  spectacles." x  And  another  point  must 
be  accentuated.  His  houseless  monks  (Pavajitdni) 
were  certainly  not  the  monks  of  modern  Buddhist 
convents,  contemplative  monks  not  allowed  to  speak 
at  all.  "  The  increase  of  converts  is  the  lustre  of 
religion,"  says  the  king  in  the  Twelfth  Edict. 

"  For  a  very  long  time  there  have  been  no  ministers 
of  religion  who,  intermingling  among  all  unbelievers, 
may  overwhelm  them  with  the  inundation  of  religion, 
and  with  the  abundance  of  the  sacred  doctrines. 
Through  Kamboja,  Gandhara,  Surashtra,  and  Petenica, 
and  elsewhere,  finding  their  way  unto  the  uttermost 
limits  of  the  barbarian  countries,  for  the  benefit 
and  pleasure  of  all  .  .  .  are  they  appointed.  Inter- 
mingling equally  among  the  dreaded  and  among  the 
respected  both  in  Pataliputra  and  in  foreign  places, 
teaching  better  things  shall  they  everywhere  pene- 
trate." 2 

Edict  XII.  enjoins  that  these  teachers  are  to  be 
very  gentle  and  conciliatory  with  the  "unconverted 
heretic." 

"  By  such  and  such  conciliatory  demeanours  shall 
even  the  unconverted  heretics  be  propitiated,  and  such 
conduct  increaseth  the  number  of  converted  heretics." 

"  Moreover,  hear  ye  the  religion  of  the  faithful,  and 
attend  thereto,  even  such  as  desire  the  act,  the  hope 
of  the  beloved  of  the  gods,  that  all  unbelievers  may 
be  speedily  purified  and  brought  into  contentment 
speedily."  3 

1  Edict  IV.,  Senart.        2  Edict  V.,  Prinsep.       3  Edict  XII.,  Prinsep. 


124  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

That  the  Buddhists  were  at  first  wandering  beggars 
without  any  convents  is  the  opinion  of  the  Russian 
Orientalist  Wassiljew,  who  supports  it  from  Dara- 
natha's  history  in  Chinese.  It  asserts  that  King 
Ajatasatra  passed  Varsha,  or  Lent,  in  a  graveyard; 
and  that  until  the  date  of  Upagupta,  a  contemporary 
of  A£oka,  there  were  no  temples.  The  first  was  built 
at  Mathura.1 

In  Blackwood's  Magazine,  for  December  1898,  Pro- 
fessor Max  Muller  writes  thus : — 

"  According  to  the  Divya-Vadana,  the  guide  who 
undertook  to  show  the  king  the  spots  where  Buddha 
had  sojourned  was  Upagupta.  He  begun  by  conduct- 
ing the  king  to  the  Garden  of  Lumbini,  and  extend- 
ing his  right  hand  he  said :  '  Here,  O  King,  was  the 
Venerable  Bhagavat  born,  and  here  should  be  the 
first  monument  in  honour  of  the  Buddha.' " 

Daranatha,  who  afterwards  came  to  the  throne,  was 
Asoka's  grandson,  so  he  ought  to  be  an  authority.  It 
is  said  that  Asoka  first  raised  four  stupas — one  where 
Buddha  was  born,  one  where  he  attained  the  great 
enlightenment,  one  at  Benares  where  he  first  preached, 
and  one  at  Kusinagara  where  he  died,  a  fact  confirmed 
by  the  archaeologists,  and  also  by  a  passage  in  the 
Mahd  Parinirvdna  Sutra.  That  Asoka  took  over  this 
Brahmin  superstition  about  the  stupa  or  sepulchral 
mound  proves  much  and  disproves  much. 

That  superstition  I  have  already  explained.2  It  was 
held  that  a  dead  man  was  far  more  powerful  than  a 
living  man,  and  that  he  might  be  persuaded  to  exert 
this  power  by  flattery  and  food  brought  as  offerings  to 

1  Chap,  iv.,  cited  by  Wassiljew,  Buddhism,  p.  41. 

2  See  Chap.  II. 


KING  ASOKA  125 

his  tomb.  In  point  of  fact,  all  magical  rites,  and  indeed 
all  religious  rites — the  ideas  are  not  by  any  means 
unconnected,  are  based  on  this  belief.  That  Asoka's 
introduction  of  the  stupa  into  Buddhism  implies  a 
belief  on  his  part  that  Buddha  was  non-existent  is  of 
course  an  absurdity.  The  stupa,  the  relics,  the  ritual, 
the  entire  outside  worship  are  bound  intimately 
together. 

The  marbles  of  a  Buddhist  stupa,  the  celebrated 
Amaravati  Tope,  are  on  the  grand  staircase  of  the 
British  Museum,  and  two  of  these  I  have  drawn  for 
my  work,  Buddhism  in  Christendom.  The  first  repre- 
sents Buddha  and  the  heavenly  host  coming  down  to 
the  worshippers,  who  have  placed  a  large  rice  cake 
upon  the  altar.  The  second  represents  him  coming 
down  in  the  same  pomp  to  the  incense  smoke.  Here 
is  a  passage,  given  by  Beal  from  the  Chinese  liturgy, 
which  explains  what  these  sculptures  mean : 

"  I  regard  the  sacred  altar  as  a  Royal  Gem  on  which 
the  Shadow  (spirit)  of  Sakya  Tathagata  appears." 1 

But  before  we  go  any  further  we  must  settle  the 
exact  position  of  those  whose  theories  we  are  consider- 
ing. Let  us  take  the  three  most  conspicuous  believers 
in  Pyrrho-Buddha  as  the  true  Buddha.  These  are  Sir 
Monier  Monier- Williams,  Dr.  Oldenburg,  and  Professor 
Rhys  Davids,  but  these  authorities  are  unanimous  in 
little  beyond  that  one  point.  Dr.  Oldenburg  rejects 
the  second  convocation,  for  the  sufficient  reason  that 
there  is  no  record  of  it  in  the  Northern  literature.  He 
accepts,  however,  the  first  convocation  and  a  vast 
early  Buddhist  literature,  but  holds  that  the  early 
Buddhists  dwelt  not  in  monasteries  but  under  trees. 

1  Beal,  Catena  of  Buddhist  Scriptures,  p.  243. 


126  BUDDHA   AND   BUDDHISM 

Sir  Monier  Monier- Williams,  on  the  other  hand,  accepts 
the  second  convocation,  but  will  have  nothing  to  say 
to  the  first  and  its  vast  library,  on  the  grounds  that 
the  letters  of  the  alphabet  were  not  at  that  time  known 
in  India,  and  that  the  holy  books  in  Ceylon  were  not 
committed  to  writing  until  the  date  of  King  Watta- 
ginini  (b.c.  104-76).  He  also  holds  that  it  is  flying  in 
the  face  of  all  evidence  to  maintain  that  the  Mahayana 
never  reached  Ceylon.1  Of  the  three  Orientalists,  these 
two  last  show  themselves  the  most  critical,  but  Pro- 
fessor Rhys  Davids  is  certainly  the  most  logical. 

To  prove  Buddha  an  atheist,  he  holds  that  a  chain  of 
circumstantial  evidence  is  required,  every  link  of  which 
is  vital. 

A  Ceylon  uncontaminated  by  the  Mahayana  is 
the  first  requisite,  a  Ceylon  that  received  from 
Mahinda  the  vast  literature  four  times  as  volum- 
inous as  our  Bible,  which  was  made  canonical  at  the 
Council  of  Rajagriha,  and  reaffirmed  at  the  Council 
of  Patna. 

To  prove  all  this,  implicit  reliance  must  be  placed  in 
Buddhaghosa  and  his  collection  of  Southern  scriptures 
(Attha  Katha),  especially  in  his  Life  of  Buddha,  the  best 
authority  we  have, — in  fact,  the  only  one  that  is  of  any 
authority  at  all.  Here,  again,  he  is  opposed  by  Sir 
Monier  Monier- Williams,  who  says  that  in  the  Southern 
literature  there  is  not  a  single  biography  of  Buddha 
worthy  of  the  name.2 

But  these  theories  of  Professor  Rhys  Davids  will  not 
bear  a  moment's  historical  investigation.  From  Hwen 
Thsang  we  see  that  Ceylon  was  the  hotbed  of  the 
Mahayana  movement. 

1  Buddhism,  p.  30.  2  Ibid.  p.  18. 


KING  ASOKA  127 

"  In  Ceylon,"  he  says,  "  are  about  ten  thousand 
monks  who  follow  the  doctrines  of  the  Great  Vehicle."1 
He  says  also  that  Deva  Bodhisatwa,  a  Cingalese  monk, 
was  one  of  its  most  active  expositors.2  At  Kanchapura 
the  Chinese  pilgrim  came  upon  three  hundred  monks 
that  had  just  fled  across  the  sea  from  Ceylon  to  escape 
the  anarchy  and  famine  consequent  on  the  death  of  a 
Ceylon  king.  As  Hwen  Thsang  afterwards  presided 
at  a  great  convocation  summoned  by  King  Siluditya 
to  attack  the  Little  Vehicle,  he,  if  anybody,  would  know 
the  difference  between  the  two  sects. 

As  to  Buddhaghosa,  he  was  alive  about  the  time  that 
Fa  Hian,  the  Chinese  traveller,  visited  India.  He  was 
a  converted  Brahmin  sent  by  the  great  monastery  at 
Magadha  to  Ceylon  to  retranslate  into  Pali  and  re-edit 
all  the  Cingalese  literature,  a  feat  that  he  accomplished 
in  a  sweeping  way.  He  was  a  rank  Pyrrho-Buddhist, 
and  Fa  Hian  records  an  important  fact.  At  this 
date  the  great  convent  of  Magadha  was  the  head- 
quarters of  the  "  Great  Vehicle  "  movement.  He  calls 
it  "the  very  lofty  and  very  beautiful  Great  Vehicle 
Monastery."  3 

But  in  point  of  fact,  can  any  one  who  has  read  this 
short  chapter  believe  in  Pyrrho-Buddha  prompting 
King  Asoka  ?  Can  they  believe  in  the  first  convoca- 
tion at  Rajagriha,  or  the  second  at  Patna  ?  To  these 
convocations  Asoka  deals  a  straip'hter  blow. 

The  old  history  of  Ceylon,  the  Mahawanso,  announces 
that  King  Asoka  was  puzzled  with  the  question :  "  Of 
what  religion  was  Sugato  ? "  which  word  Mr.  Turnour 
renders  "  the   Deity  of   Happy  Advent."      In   conse- 

1  Hwen  Thsang,  Histoire,  p.  192. 

2  Mtmoires,  vol.  i.  pp.  218,  277.  3  Pilgrimage,  p.  254. 


128  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

quence  he  determined  to  summon  a  council  of  all  the 
monks  of  Jambudwipa,  to  be  presided  over  by  Moggali- 
putra.  The  Ninth  Edict  talks  of  "  consultations  upon 
matters  of  religion  "  (Senart's  translation).  The  Third 
Edict  talks  of  an  Anusamydna  (general  assembly).  The 
convocation  is  dated  by  scholars,  B.C.  244.  Certainly 
the  following  inscription  seems  to  give  us  its  results : 

"It  is  well  know,  sirs,  to  what  lengths  have  gone  my 
respect  for  and  faith  in  Buddha,  Dharma,  Sangha,  All 
that  our  Lord  Buddha  has  spoken  is  well  spoken. 
Wherefore,  sirs,  it  must  indeed  be  regarded  as  having 
indisputable  authority.  So  the  true  faith  shall  last 
long.  Thus,  my  lords,  I  honour  with  the  highest 
honour  those  religious  works,  Vinayasamaka  ("Lessons 
in  Discipline  "),  Aryavasas  ("  the  Supernatural  Powers 
of  the  Aryas"),  Andgatabhayas  ("the  Terrors  of  the 
Future  "),  Munigdthas  ("  the  Metrical  Life  of  Buddha"), 
Upatisapasina  ("the  Questions  of  Upatishya"),ifo7ie2/a- 
suta  ("  the  Sutra  on  the  Inner  Life  "),  and  the  Admoni- 
tion to  Rdhula  concerning  Falsehood  uttered  by  our 
Lord  Buddha.  These  religious  works,  sir,  I  would 
that  the  Bhikshus  and  Bhikshunis,  for  the  advancement 
of  their  good  name,  shall  uninterruptedly  study  and 
remember."  1 

This  is  the  inscription,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  how 
any  Orientalist  or  any  non-Orientalist  can  undervalue 
its  importance.  Would  Asoka  have  had  "  doubts  "  and 
"consultations"  as  to  what  Buddha  had  taught,  if  a 
literature  four  times  as  copious  as  the  Christian's  Bible 
was  already  received  as  canonical  ?  And  supposing 
that  the  canon  was  fixed  before  his  time,  why  should 
he  reject  the  greater  part  of  it,  and  only  require  about 
:  Second  Bairat  Rock. 


KING  ASOKA  129 

1  per  cent,  of  the  whole  to  be  learnt  and  chanted  out 
by  his  monks  and  nuns  ?  The  "  Question  of  Upatishya" 
has  come  down  to  us,  and  also  the  "  Admonition  to 
Rahula  regarding  Falsehood." x  The  two  together  would 
be  about  as  long  as  the  Epistle  to  Philemon  in  the 
Bible,  and  the  Life  of  Buddha  was  also  probably  very 
short.  I  used  this  argument  in  an  early  work,  and  it 
was  thus  answered  by  Professor  Rhys  Davids  in  the 
Saturday  Review : 

"  His  argument,  from  the  titles  in  the  Asoka  monu- 
ments, cannot  be  seriously  urged  when  we  know  that 
they  are  rather  descriptions  of  contents  than  fixed 
titles,  and  may  be  easily  varied." 

Now,  with  every  desire  to  do  justice  to  an  opponent's 
argument,  I  own  that  here  I  am  fairly  puzzled.  Is  not 
every  "  fixed  title,"  in  design  at  least,  a  description  of 
the  "  contents  of  the  work  "  ?  Is  it  conceivable  that  an 
intelligent  king,  having  summoned  a  religious  convoca- 
tion from  the  most  distant  ends  of  his  vast  dominions 
to  draw  up  a  catalogue  of  the  books  to  be  considered 
sacred,  should  deliberately  order  that  no  fixed  title 
should  be  used.  Imagine  the  Council  of  Laodicea, 
when  settling  the  New  Testament  Canon,  forbidden  to 
use  such  titles  as  the  "  Acts  of  the  Apostles "  or  the 
"Gospel  according  to  Matthew,"  and  forced  to  adopt 
some  novel  and  unknown  heading  which  was  not  to  be 
a  "title." 

Moreover,  is  it  a  fact  that  Asoka's  seven  tractates 
had  no  fixed  titles  ?  Let  us  consider  the  "  Question  of 
Upatishya." 

Upatishya  had  one  supreme  fear,  the  fear  of  death. 
One  day,  in  company  with  Maudgalyayana  (they  were 
1  See  p.  87. 
9 


130  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

both  seekers  of  truth),  they  witnessed  a  festival  from 
a  hilltop.  "  See,"  said  Upatishya,  "  in  two  hundred 
years  all  these  living  beings  will  be  the  prey  of  death. 
If  there  is  a  principle  of  destruction,  can  there  not  also 
be  a  principle  of  life  ? " 

This  was  the  "  Question  of  Upatishya,"  and  he  pro- 
pounded it  to  many  teachers,  but  none  solved  it  satis- 
factorily until  he  came  across  Athadzi,  a  disciple  who 
expounded  to  him  Buddha's  Dharma. 

Here  the  title  is  plainly  the  real  title  ;  the  same  must 
be  said  of  the  Metrical  Life  of  Buddha,  the  treatise 
on  Discipline ;  and,  in  fact,  of  all  the  seven  works  men- 
tioned in  the  Second  Bairat  Rock.  Dr.  Oldenburg,  in 
treating  this  subject,  is  more  intelligible  than  Professor 
Rhys  Davids,  but  certainly  he  is  not  so  cautious.  He 
holds  that  the  seven  tractates  mentioned  on  the  Second 
Bairat  Rock  are  only  a  portion  of  the  vast  literature 
that  Mahinda  carried  to  Ceylon ;  but  as  the  memory 
of  the  monks  was  the  sole  vehicle  by  which  Buddhist 
literature  in  those  days  could  be  handed  down,  who 
committed  to  memory  the  remaining  literature  ? — about 
99  per  cent,  of  the  whole.  Asoka's  monks  and  nuns 
were  ordered  all  of  them  to  learn  up  and  chant  the 
seven  Asoka  tractates  and  no  others.  Mahinda  crossed 
to  Ceylon  with  four  monks  and  one  layman,  as  the 
Mahdwanso  tells  us.  Did  this  layman  carry  in  his 
brain  the  rest  of  the  literature,  four  times  as  copious 
as  the  Christian  Scriptures.  Mahinda  left  one  year 
after  the  convocation.  The  layman  in  this  case  must 
have  been  a  quick  learner  with  a  very  good  memory. 

It  is  high  time  that  Asoka  were  properly  studied. 
Orientalists  have  been  meritoriously  industrious  over 
the  accents  of  some  of  the  inscriptions  and  the  want 


KING  ASOKA  131 

of  accents  upon  others.  They  have  differentiated  the 
letters,  "  Northern  Asoka "  and  "  Southern  Asoka." 
They  have  cavilled  over  the  words,  poor  chisel  scratches 
worn  down  by  the  centuries.  Let  us  hope  they  will 
now  get  to  the  sentences.  I  myself  plead  guilty  to 
having  undervalued  Asoka.  When  I  first  read  him 
I  found  in  his  "  Stupa  of  Commandment,"  his  "  pro- 
clamations by  beat  of  drum,"  a  little  too  much  of — 
what  shall  I  say — the  conquering  general-officer.  He 
insisted  on  marching  his  subjects  to  Swarga  in  orderly 
time. 

"  Never  was  there  in  any  former  period  a  system  of 
instruction  applicable  to  every  season  and  to  every 
action,  such  as  is  that  which  is  now  established  by  me."1 

In  another  edict  he  states  that  similar  arrangements 
for  spreading  religion  "  have  not  been  known  for  many 
hundred  years." 

Then,  in  the  First  Dhauli  Edict,  he  tells  his  rajukas 
that  his  chief  desire  is  to  spread  the  religion  of 
Buddha : 

"  Now,  the  chief  means  for  effecting  this  are  the 
instructions  that  I  give  to  you.  You  are  placed  over 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  human  beings  to  win  the 
affection  of  the  well-behaved.  Every  man  is  my  child, 
and  my  wish  is  that  my  children  may  enjoy  all  sorts 
of  prosperity  in  this  world,  and  happiness  in  the  next. 
I  have  the  same  desire  for  all  men." 

"  It  is  in  this  design,"  says  the  Eighth  Edict,  "  that  I 
have  set  up  this  inscription,  that  it  may  be  read  by  my 
sons  and  grandsons,  and  endure  as  long  as  the  moon 
and  the  sun,  that  they  may  follow  my  teaching  and 
obtain  happiness  in  this  world  and  the  next."2 

1  Edict  VI.,  Prinsep.  2  Senart's  translation. 


132  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

"  Thus  shall  the  heaven-born  king  cause  Dharma  to 
flourish."1 

I  own  that  this  sort  of  writing  again  prejudiced  me 
against  the  king  when,  for  this,  my  new  work,  I  re- 
turned to  the  study  of  the  inscriptions.  "  The  good 
king  writes  as  if  he  were  writing  a  Bible  ! "  Thus  ran 
my  thoughts. 

Then  came  a  sudden  flash  of  intelligence.  What  if 
the  king  was  writing  a  Bible !  At  once  I  seized  Sir 
Alexander  Cunningham's  Corpus  Inscriptionum  Indi- 
carum  for  dates.     I  read  : 

"  Earliest  Rock  Edicts       .         .      B.C.  251 
Synod  under  Mogaliputra       .       B.C.  244  " 

There  it  was  plain,  enough.  Anoka's  inscriptions 
were  the  first  Buddhist  teachings  committed  to  writing, 
the  first  authoritative  Buddhist  scriptures. 

This  meant  much.  It  proved,  to  begin  with,  that  I 
had  done  injustice  to  A£oka  in  charging  him  with  an 
arrogant  usurpation  of  the  office  of  the  Buddhist  hier- 
archy. He  was  merely  setting  forth  to  the  best  of  his 
literary  ability  the  tenets  of  a  religious  teacher  who 
had  changed  his  life.  He  says  that  no  such  instruction 
had  been  given  before,  because,  in  point  of  fact,  it  had 
not.  He  says  that  his  teaching  will  give  happiness  in 
this  world  and  bliss  in  the  next,  meaning  simply  that 
it  was  Buddha's  Dharma.  Far  from  usurping  the 
office  of  a  Buddhist  hierarchy,  he  was  in  fact  helping 
to  create  one.  His  rajukas  and  overseers  were  ap- 
parently civil  officers  and  laymen,  but  they  were  paving 
the  way  for  bishops  and  superior  monks, — in  fact,  that 
hierarchy  which  Bishop  Bigandet  has  pronounced  to 
be  pin  for  pin  similar  to  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
1  Edict  IV. 


KING  ASOKA  133 

He  established  a  council  or  "conference  on  religion," 
that  the  few  poor  scraps  of  Buddhist  tradition  should 
be  saved  from  oblivion.  Here  was  the  Buddhist  Bible 
in  embryo.  He  changed  a  cairn  or  two  into  elaborate 
Buddhist  stupas  and,  for  good  or  ill,  created  the  temple. 
His  rest-houses  and  the  mango  groves  that  he  planted 
to  save  the  dreaming  yogi  from  the  sun  became  by  and 
by  elaborate  monasteries.  The  Nagarjuni  inscriptions 
by  Asoka's  grandson,  Daranatha,  announce  that  he  gave 
the  Gopi's  Cave  and  the  "  well-cavern  "  to  the  dream- 
ing bhadantas  in  perpetuity.  This  reveals  much. 
Buddha  had  forbidden  his  beggars  the  use  of  a  house. 
With  pardonable  Jesuitism,  it  was  now  argued  that  a 
cavern  was  not  a  house. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

PYRRHOBUDDHA 

We  now  come  to  Pyrrho-Buddha.  The  evidence  re- 
garding his  introduction  is  far  more  complete  than  the 
evidence  of  the  introduction  of  some  of  the  leading 
novelties  into  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church  ;  for  instance, 
transubstantiation.  Pyrrho-Buddha  and  the  "  Great 
Vehicle  "  teaching,  as  it  was  called,  was  officially  recog- 
nised at  the  convocation  summoned  by  King  Kanaka 
about  A.D.  16. 

From  Fa  Hian,  the  Chinese  traveller,  who  visited 
India  in  the  fourth  century,  we  will  copy  down  what 
the  "  Great  Vehicle "  reformers  said  of  themselves. 
The  controversy  between  the  "Vehicles"  was  illus- 
trated by  an  allegory.  Three  vehicles  once  crossed  a 
river.  The  first,  drawn  by  a  sheep,  was  the  "  Little 
Vehicle,"  or  early  Buddhism,  and  the  sheep  looked 
timorously  towards  the  "other  bank."  The  second 
vehicle  was  drawn  by  a  stag,  who  showed  more  courage. 
He  looked  back,  after  the  manner  of  stags  when  the 
hunter's  arrows  are  assailing  his  does.  But  the  third, 
or  "  Great  Vehicle,"  was  drawn  by  the  lordly  elephant. 
He  marched  on  sure  ground. 

Here  is  the  controversy  in  a  nutshell.  The  "  other 
bank"  is  the  Hindoo  phrase  for  heaven,  which  was 
supposed   to   be   separated   from  earth   by   the   river 


PYRRHO-BUDDHA  135 

Vaitarani.     The  early  Buddhists  looked  forward  to  the 
continuation   of   the   individuality   in   Swarga.     This 
was  pronounced  by  the  new  teachers  to  be  the  "  Pride 
of   Individuality"   (Atmamada);   and    Hwen  Thsang 
records  how  a  foolish  monk  of  the  "Little  Vehicle" 
was  sternly  rebuked  by  the  great  Maitreya  himself  for 
holding  it.1     The  philosophy  of  the  reformers  (most 
philosophies  are  simple  contradictions  of  certain  current 
views)   proclaimed   that   mighty   Nothingness   {Maha 
Sunya)  was  the  goal  of  the  truly  enlightened  mystic. 
Buddha  was  dethroned.     His  relics  were  thrown  out 
of  the  stupas.     And  the  white  statue  of  Bodhisatwa 
Maitreya,  the  coming  Buddha,  replaced  him  on  the  altar. 
The  worship  of  a  Bodhisatwa  seems  at  first  sight  the 
worship  conceived  by  a  madman.     The  main  design  of 
the  Lalita  Vistara  is  to  show  how  a  Bodhisatwa  is  to 
develop   into  a  Buddha.     The  Bodhisatwa   is   in   the 
heaven  Tusita.     He  is  still  in  the  Kamaloca,  or  Domain 
of  Appetite.     His  "Divine  eye"  is  still  closed.     Far 
from  being  the  Governor  of  the  Universe,  for  it  was 
thus  Maitreya  got  to  be  viewed,  he  can  do  no  good 
thing.     And  yet  the  great  allegory  is  full  of  inter- 
polated passages  which  call  the  "  Buddhas  of  the  Ten 
Horizons"  the  " Bodhisatwas   of   the  Ten  Horizons," 
and   so   on.     The   absurdity   reaches    its   culminating 
point  when,  in  the  Nepalese  litany,  although  it  is  en- 
titled the  "  Praise  of  the  Seven  Buddhas,"  an  address 
to   an   eighth   Buddha,  Maitreya,  is   added.     And   as 
ritual  is  a  more  conservative  institution  than  meta- 
physic,  some  other  marked  inconsistencies  were  found 
necessary.     The  corpse-worship  of  the  old  Buddhism 
had  to  be  retained,  because  that  was  the  outward  rite 
1  Mtmoires,  tome  i.  p.  222. 


i  36  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

of  Buddhism.  But  as  the  prophet  that  has  not  yet 
come  to  the  world  is  not  yet  available  as  a  corpse, 
sepulchral  mounds  had  to  be  erected,  that  contained 
neither  corpses  nor  relics.  The  Bodhisatwa,  or  future 
Buddha,  had  many  stupas  erected  to  him.  They  con- 
tained no  relics,  but  the  disciples  of  the  "  Vehicle  that 
drives  to  the  Great  Nowhere  "  offered  flowers  and  food 
to  the  non-existent  relics.  They  marched  three  times 
round  the  stupa,  within  the  mystic  altar  rails.  On  the 
Ganges,  Hwen  Thsang  was  seized  by  pirates.  These, 
struck  by  his  splendid  physique,  prepared  to  sacrifice 
him  to  the  goddess  Durga.  The  pilgrim  prayed  to 
Maitreya,  and  suddenly,  aloft  in  the  sky,  "  in  the  palace 
of  the  Tusita  heaven,"  the  dazzling  form  of  the  Bodhi- 
satwa appeared.  He  was  seated  on  a  throne  with 
legions  of  spirits  around  him.  A  mighty  tempest 
suddenly  arose,  which  whirled  the  dust  into  huge 
spiral  clouds,  and  sank  all  the  pirates'  boats.  They 
repented,  and  released  the  pilgrim.1  Fa  Hian.  in  a 
mighty  storm  at  sea,  also  nearly  lost  his  life.  He 
prayed  to  Bodhisatwa  AvalokiteSvara,  and  the  ship 
was  saved.2 

At  Mathura,  during  his  visit,  as  the  pilgrim  Hwen 
Thsang  shows,  this  rival  stupa-worship  was  very 
marked.  The  disciples  of  the  Little  Vehicle  paid 
homage  to  the  relics  of  Sariputra,  Maudgalyayana, 
Ananda,  and  the  other  great  Buddhist  saints,  who  had 
each  one  a  handsome  stupa  in  that  city.  But  the 
disciples  of  the  Great  Vehicle  worshipped  the  Bodhi- 
satwas,  says  the  Chinese  pilgrim.3  Fa  Hian  bears 
similar  testimony.4 


1  Hwen  Thsang,  Histoire,  p.  118.  2  Fa  Hian,  p.  359. 

3  Hwen  Thsang,  Eistoire,  p.  104. 


4  Pilgrimage,  p.  101. 


PYRRHO-BUDDHA  137 

If  a  vast  nation  of  subtle  thinkers  were  suddenly 
called  upon  to  choose  between  the  teachings  of  a 
prophet  of  the  past,  and  those  of  a  prophet  yet 
unborn,  one  would  think  that  the  teachings  of  the 
former  would  have  the  preference,  as  they  would 
certainly  be  better  available  to  the  general  public. 
How  the  quaint  cultus  of  a  man  who  was  only  to 
attain  the  spiritual  enlightenment  some  thousands  of 
years  hence  arose,  it  is  very  difficult  now  to  say 
precisely.  We  see  from  the  writings  of  Hwen  Thsang, 
that  from  its  political  side  the  movement  was  aimed 
against  the  authority  of  the  Acharya  of  Magadha, 
the  Rome  of  the  Buddhists.  Kaniska,  a  powerful 
Kashmiri,  had  conquered  vast  territories  that  in- 
cluded Hindu  Kush,  and  Kabul,  Yarkand  and  Khokan, 
Kashmir  and  Ladak,  the  plains  of  the  Upper  Ganges 
as  far  as  Agra,  the  Punjab,  Rajputana,  Guzerat, 
and  Scincle.  Such  a  large  Buddhist  empire  would 
require  a  strengthened  discipline  amongst  its  great 
army  of  monks.  Magadha  was  not  included  in  this 
empire,  and  the  two  leading  monks  of  Kaniska, 
Parsvika  and  Vasubandhu,  may  have  wished  to 
establish  an  ecclesiastical  authority  independent  of 
the  "  High  Priest  of  all  the  World,"  as  the  Acharya 
of  Magadha  is  called  in  the  Mahdwanso.1  Perhaps 
the  authority  of  the  latter  was  ill  defined ;  and  perhaps 
it  had  also  become  weakened,  now  that  Magadha  was 
no  longer  the  headquarters  of  a  large  empire.  If  a 
strong  religious  controversy  were  raging,  it  would  be 
the  manifest  policy  of  the  king's  head  ecclesiastics  to 
take  the  side  that  opposed  the  Acharya  ("Teacher" 
par  excellence)  of   Magadha.      The  leader  of  the  re- 

1  Mahdwanso,  p.  21. 


138  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

ligious  movement  was  a  monk  of  the  convent  of 
Ayodhya — a  visionary,  one  Asangha,  who  was  trans- 
ported one  night  to  the  heaven  Tusita,  and  received 
the  Yoga  Sastra,  the  principal  scripture  of  the  new 
faith,  from  Maitreya  himself.  Vasubandhu,  his  pupil, 
was  also  an  author.  He  indited  many  of  the  chief 
Sastras  of  the  innovating  Buddhism.1  He  presided 
at  the  convocation  summoned  by  King  Kaniska  to 
introduce  it.  The  king  wanted  to  hold  the  con- 
vocation at  Magadha : 

"He  wished  to  repair  to  Rajagriha,  to  the  stone 
palace  where  Kasyapa  had  formed  the  collection  of 
sacred  books.  But  the  honourable  Parsvika  (his 
senior  monk)  said  to  him :  '  Take  care,  in  that  city 
are  many  heretics !  Many  conflicting  opinions  will 
be  expressed,  and  we  shall  not  have  time  to  answer 
and  refute  them.  Why  compose  Sastras  ?  The  whole 
convocation  is  attached  to  this  kingdom.  Your  realms 
are  defended  on  all  sides  by  high  mountains,  under 
the  guardianship  of  Yakshas.' " 2 

It  is  plain  from  this  that  the  new  creed  was  estab- 
lished in  the  teeth  of  the  High  Priest  of  Magadha 
and  the  official  Buddhism;  but  Magadha  afterwards 
took  it  up,  as  its  tendency  was  plainly  in  the  direction 
of  strengthening  the  priesthood.  At  the  date  of  King 
&iladitya  the  Acharya  of  Magadha,  in  his  headquarters 
at  Nalanda,  was  the  chief  exponent  of  the  new  creed. 

I  will  copy  down  two  passages  from  Hwen  Thsang. 
This  is  what  the  disciples  of  the  Little  Vehicle  said 
of  their  opponents : 

"They  answered  that  the  heretics  of  the  Carriage 

1  Hwen  Thsang,  Histoire,  p.  114  et  seq. 

2  Hwen  Thsang,  Mcmoires,  vol.  i.  p.  174. 


PYRRHO-BUDDHA  139 

that  drives  to  the  Great  Nowhere  [Sunyapushpa], 
residing  at  the  monastery  of  Nalanda,  differed  in 
nothing  from  the  Kapalikas."  1 

They  said,  too,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Great  Vehicle 
did  not  come  from  Buddha  at  all.2 

A  Kapalika  was  a  Brahmin,  cunning  in  Tantric  rites. 
A  drama — the  Prabodha  Chandra  Udaya — gives  us  a 
sketch  of  him  when  Buddhism  was  the  official  religion 
of  India.      Talking  to  a  Buddhist,  he  speaks  thus : — 

"With  goodly  necklace  decked  of  hones  of  men, 
Haunting  the  tomhs,  from  cups  of  human  skulls 
Eating  and  quaffing,  ever  I  hehold, 
With  eyes  that  meditation's  salve  hath  cleared, 
The  world  of  diverse  jarring  elements 
Composed,  but  still  all  one  with  the  Supreme. 
The  Buddhist.— -This  man  professes  the  rule  of  a  Kapalika.    I  will 
ask  him  what  it  is  (going  to  him).     0  ho,  you  with  the  bone  and 
skull  necklace  ! — what  are  your  hopes  of  happiness  and  salvation  ? 

Hie  A dept.— Wretch  of  a  Buddhist !  Well,  hear  what  is  our 
religion  : — 

With  flesh  of  men,  with  brain  and  fat  well  smeared, 
We  make  our  grim  burnt  offering — break  our  fast 
From  cups  of  holy  Brahmin's  skull,  and  ever 
With  gurgling  drops  of  blood  that  plenteous  stream 
From  hard  throats  quickly  cut;  by  us  is  worshipped 
With  human  offerings  meet  the  dread  Bhairava. 

I  call  at  will  the  best  of  gods,  great  Hari, 

And  Hara's  self  and  Brahma.     I  restrain 

With  my  sole  voice  the  course  of  stars  that  wander 

In  heaven's  bright  vault;  the  earth,  with  all  its  load 

Of  mountains,  fields,  and  cities,  I  at  will 

Reduce  once  more  to  water ;  and,  behold, 

I  drink  it  up!"3 


1  II wen  Tlisang,  Memoircs,  p.  220.  2  Ibid. 

3  Journ.  Bcng.  As.  Soc.  vol.  vi.  p.  15. 


140  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

The  Kapalika,  or  Adept,  plainly  thought  that  he 
was  God  on  earth ;  that  at  will  he  could  restrain  the 
movement  of  the  stars  and  destroy  the  universe. 
Plainly,  in  the  view  of  the  early  Buddhist  school,  the 
movement  entitled  the  Great  Vehicle  was  in  the  direc- 
tion of  turning  the  humble  "  Son  of  Sakya  "  into  a 
pretentious  Kapalika.  In  early  Buddhism  any  one, 
without  the  intervention  of  any  other  mortal,  could 
make  a  direct  appeal  to  the  supreme  Buddha  merely 
by  walking  three  times  round  a  relic  stupa.  But 
Hwen  Thsang  plainly  tells  us  that  the  apostles  of 
the  Great  Vehicle  discouraged  this  worship  of  Sakya 
Muni  and  the  dead  saints. 

What  was  the  inner  cultus  of  the  Sunyavadi  stated 
with  philosophical  precision.  If  we  could  recall  and 
cross-examine  a  candid  professor  of  the  creed,  he  would 
no  doubt  tell  us  that  the  worship  of  the  babe  unborn, 
the  Glad  Tidings  of  Flat  Contradiction,  and  the  tomb- 
worship  without  human  remains,  were  mere  outside 
accidents.  Rajendra  Lala  Mitra,  the  prince  of  modern 
Orientalists,  in  his  Nepdlese  Buddhist  Literature, 
affirms  that  the  philosophy  of  the  Mahdydna  was  a 
servile  theft  from  contemporary  Brahmin  tractates. 
The  Bible  of  the  Sunyavadis  was  the  Rakshd  Bha- 
gavati.  Brian  Hodgson  confirms  this.1  The  Hindoo 
writer  tells  us  that  the  Rakshd  Bhagavati  is  an 
avowed  attack  on  Hinayana,  or  "  Little  Vehicle,"  which 
is  "  refuted  repeatedly "  —  or  early  Buddhism,  in 
point  of  fact.2  Let  us  see  if  this  work  for  the 
first  time  in  Buddhism  preaches  a  God  and  immortal 
life.      That    is    the    contention    of    Professor    Rhys 

1  Literature  of  Nepal,  p.  16. 

2  Rajendra  Lala  Mitra,  Nepdlese  Buddhist  Literature,  p.  178. 


PYRRHO-BUDDHA  141 

Davids.  I  will  give  the  titles  of  some  of  its 
chapters. 

Chap.  I.  The  subject  of  Nothingness  (Sunyata)  ex- 
pounded. 

Chap.  II.  Relation  of  the  soul  to  form,  colour,  and 
vacuity. 

Chap.  IV.  Relation  of  form  to  vacuity. 

Chap.  VII.  How  a  Bodhisatwa  merges  all  natural 
attributes  into  vacuity. 

Chap.  XII.  The  doctrine  of  Mahayana  and  its  ad- 
vantages, derived  principally,  if  not  entirely,  from  its 
recognition  of  the  greatness  of  Sunyavada  (Nihilistic 
doctrine  of  the  Brahmin  sect  of  Sunyavadis). 

Chap.  XIII.  To  the  Bodhisatwa  there  is  nothing 
eternal,  nothing  transient,  nothing  painful,  nothing 
pleasant.     All  qualities  are  unreal  as  a  dream. 

Chaps.  XIV.-XVI.  The  principle  of  the  Prajud 
Pdramitd  imparted  by  Buddha  to  Indra.  The  end 
sought  is  the  attainment  of  vacuity. 

Chap.  XXXV.  All  objects  attainable  by  the  study 
of  Nihilism.1 

Hodgson  gives  a  bit  of  what  he  calls  this  "pure 
Pyrrhonism"  from  the  same  book.  Buddha  is  made 
to  talk  thus : 

"The  being  of  all  things  is  derived  from  belief, 
reliance,  in  this  order :  from  false  knowledge,  delusive 
impression  ;  from  delusive  impression,  general  notions  ; 
from  them,  particulars ;  from  them,  the  six  seats  of  the 
senses ;  from  them,  contact ;  from  it,  definite  sensation 
and  perception ;  from  it,  thirst  or  desire  ;  from  it,  em- 
bryolic  (physical)  existence;  from  it,  birth  or  actual 
existence;  from  it,  all  the  distinctions  of  genus  and 

1  NepaUse  Buddhist  Literature,  p.  180. 


i42  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

species  among  animate  things ;  from  them,  decay  and 
death,  after  the  manner  and  period  peculiar  to  each. 
Such  is  the  procession  of  all  things  into  existence  from 
delusion  (avidya),  and  in  the  inverse  order  to  that  of  their 
procession  they  retrograde  into  non-existence"  (p.  79). 
Sir  Monier  Monier- Williams  gives  a  sketch  of  early 
Buddhism  almost  in  the  same  words : 

"  The  universe  around  us,  with  all  its  visible  pheno- 
mena, must  be  recognised  as  an  existing  entity,  for  we 
see  before  our  eyes  evidence  of  its  actual  existence. 
But  it  is  an  entity  produced  out  of  nonentity,  and 
destined  to  lapse  again  into  nonentity  when  its  time  is 
fulfilled.  For  out  of  Nothingness  it  came,  and  into 
Nothingness  it  must  return." x 

Has  the  Boden  Professor  of  Sanskrit  here  remembered 
the  passage  from  Brian  Hodgson,  and  forgotten  in  his 
mind  that  it  is  not  by  a  writer  on  early  Buddhism,  but 
by  one  who  proposed  to  "  refute  repeatedly  "  all  early 
Buddhist  ideas  ? 

Sir  Monier  Monier- Williams  derives  Buddha's  atheism 
from  the  Brahmajala  Sutra,  the  brief  of  so  many 
modern  writers  on  Buddhism.  This  little  work  is  more 
rank  in  its  Pyrrho-Buddhism  than  even  the  "  Diamond 
Cutter."  The  title  means  the  "  Net  of  the  Brahmins," 
and  it  professes  to  refute  "  sixty-two  heterodox  sects," 
which  it  does  by  contradicting  everybody  and  every- 
thing, something  in  this  style :  The  universe  is  finite 
and  infinite,  the  soul  is  eternal  and  non-eternal,  man 
remembers  his  past  lives  and  yet  never  remembers 
them,  existence  is  the  result  of  a  previously  existent 
cause  and  is  not  the  result  of  anything  of  the  sort. 
Sir  Monier  Monier-Williams,  on  the  strength  of  astate- 
1  Buddhism,  p.  118. 


PYRRHO-BUDDHA  143 

ment  that  no  Gods  are  eternal,1  pronounces  Buddha 
an  atheist,  and  yet  in  one  part  of  the  Sutra  there 
is  a  great  deal  about  Brahma's  heaven  and  Brahma 
himself  which  in  Buddha's  day  were  both  deemed 
eternal.  Professor  Rhys  Davids,  on  the  other  hand, 
fastens  on  three  speeches  which  I  here  transcribe : 

"  Priests  among  these  Samanas  and  Brahmins  are 
some  who  hold  the  doctrine  of  future  conscious 
existence,  and  in  sixteen  modes  teach  that  the  soul 
consciously  exists  after  death.  But  the  teaching  of 
these  Samanas  and  Brahmins  is  founded  on  their 
ignorance,  their  want  of  perception  of  truth,  their 
own  personal  experience,  and  on  the  fluctuating 
emotions  of  those  who  are  under  the  influence  of 
their  passions. 

"  Priests  among  these  Samanas  and  Brahmins  are 
some  who  hold  the  doctrine  of  future  unconscious 
existence,  and  in  eight  modes  teach  that  the  soul  exists 
after  death  in  a  state  of  unconsciousness.  But  the 
teaching  of  these  Samanas  and  Brahmins  is  founded 
on  their  ignorance,  their  want  of  perception  of  truth, 
their  own  personal  experience,  and  on  the  fluctuating 
emotions  of  those  who  are  under  the  influence  of  their 
passions. 

"  Priests  among  these  Samanas  and  Brahmins  are 
some  who  hold  the  doctrine  of  a  future  state  of  being 
neither  conscious  nor  yet  unconscious,  and  in  eight 
modes  teach  that  the  soul  will  hereafter  exist  in  a 
state  between  consciousness  and  unconsciousness. 
But  the  teaching  of  these  Samanas  and  Brahmins  is 
founded  on  their  ignorance,  their  want  of  perception 
of  truth,  their  own  personal  experience,  and  on  the 
1  Buddhism,  p.  106. 


144  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

fluctuating    emotions    of    those    who    are    under   the 
influence  of  their  passions." 

Plainly,  says  the  professor,  conscious  existence  after 
death,  unconscious  existence  after  death,  and  exist- 
ence in  a  state  that  is  "  neither  conscious  nor  uncon- 
scious "  are  here  flatly  denied.  "  Would  it  be  possible," 
he  adds  triumphantly,  "  in  a  more  complete  and  cate- 
gorical manner  to  deny  that  there  is  any  soul,  or 
anything  of  any  kind  which  continues  to  exist  in  any 
manner  after  death  ? " 

But  there  is  a  fourth  passage,  apparently  overlooked 
by  the  professor,  which  flatly  contradicts  the  other 
three : 

"Priests  among  these  Samanas  and  Brahmins  are 
some  who  affirm  that  existence  is  destroyed,  and  who 
in  seven  modes  teach  that  existing  beings  are  cut 
off,  destroyed,  annihilated.  But  the  teaching  of  these 
Samanas  and  Brahmins  is  founded  on  their  ignorance, 
their  want  of  perception  of  truth,  their  own  per- 
sonal experience,  and  on  the  fluctuating  emotions 
of  those  who  are  under  the  influence  of  their 
passions."  * 

It  must  be  mentioned,  too,  that  the  Siitra  talks  of 
monasteries  with  monks  indulging  in  "  large  elevated 
beds,"  "  embroidered  counterpanes,"  "  cushions  orna- 
mented with  gold  and  embroidery " ;  which  carries  it 
a  long  way  from  Asoka,  and  still  further  from  Buddha, 
who,  by  the  way,  as  a  Brahmin  could  scarcely  have 
had  a  revelation  of  the  Sunyavddi's  philosophy  made 
to  him.  In  his  day  there  was  no  toleration,  and  the 
Brahmins  objected  to  unorthodox  fancies  about  the 
supreme  Brahma. 

1  Grimblot,  Sept  Suttas  Palis,  p.  107. 


PYRRHO-BUDDHA  145 

Dethronement  of  Pyrrho-Buddha 

We  now  plunge  into  a  tangle  of  uncertainties  tem- 
pered by  one  very  prominent  fact — Pyrrho-Buddha 
was  promptly  dethroned.  The  "  Ever-living  Buddha  " 
(Buddha  Amitdyas)  was  set  up  in  his  place  with  an 
eternal  "  Paradise  of  Pure  Bliss  "  (Sukhdvati). 

The  chief  difficulty  about  Amitdyas  is  the  fact  that 
the  Sutras  that  relate  to  him  are  bound  up  with  the 
Sutras  that  set  up  and  set  forth  Pyrrho-Buddha.  The 
learned  amongst  the  Chinese  and  the  learned  amongst 
the  Nepalese  call  both  Mahdydna  literature.  And 
Professor  Max  Miiller,  in  his  Sacred  Books  of  the  East, 
has  bound  up  under  the  same  title  the  "Diamond 
Cutter,"  which  builds  up  Pyrrho-Buddha  and  the 
Sutra  about  Sukhdvati  which  demolishes  him. 

For  philosophies  are  destructive  more  often  than 
constructive.  The  calm  philosopher  aims  his  new 
shaft  at  some  current  idea  that  disturbs  his  calmness. 
The  Pyrrho-Buddhist  proclaimed  that  there  was  no 
God  except  Nothingness,  no  heaven  except  Nothingness, 
no  blissful  future  for  man  except  Nothingness.  Life 
was  a  sickly  dream  of  bright  suns  and  green  fields 
and  human  joys  and  human  sorrows,  but  bright  suns 
and  green  fields  and  human  joys  were  non-existent. 
Nothing  was  real  except  the  sorrow.  As  an  emphatic 
protest  against  all  this,  the  demolisher  proclaimed  an 
eternal  God,  eternal  heavens,  and  an  eternal  life  for 
man,  blissful  when  he  had  attained  the  great  awaken- 
ing. To  name  his  God  he  picked  out  the  strongest 
words  in  the  Sanskrit  dictionary  —  A,  privative; 
mrita,  death ;  Ayus,  life :  Amitayas,  the  "  Buddha  of 
Deathless  Life."     The  word  Buddha  was  given  to  this 


i46  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

god  as  an  emphatic  protest  against  the  theory  of 
the  Pyrrho-Buddhist,  that  all  the  Buddhas  had  gone 
to  the  blissful  Nirvana  of  Nothingness.  And  as 
a  protest  against  the  dreary  pessimism  that  held 
all  life — the  higher  life  as  well  as  the  lower — to  be 
pure  misery,  it  called  its  Paradise  the  "  Joyful  Place." 

Who  were  those  demolishers,  and  when  did  they 
live  ?  There  we  are  at  fault.  We  have  seen  that  the 
Pyrrho-Buddhist  described  himself  and  his  opponents 
in  a  little  allegory  about  three  "  Chariots."  Was  the 
Middle  Chariot,  Mddhyamika,  the  "  Vehicle "  of  the 
worshippers  of  Amitayas?  If  the  Pyrrho-Buddhist 
could  be  credited  with  strict  logic,  this  conclusion 
is  difficult.  The  "Great  Chariot,"  with  its  lordly 
elephant,  had  a  supreme  contempt  for  the  miserable 
creatures  in  the  "  Little  Chariot,"  who  sighed  for 
prolonged  individuality  in  an  eternal  heaven.  The 
Middle  Chariotiers,  on  the  other  hand,  are  described 
as  being  more  noble  than  this, — they  have  some 
thoughts  for  their  neighbours.  But  the  worshippers 
of  Amitayas  had  certainly  also  the  desire  of  a  blissful 
hereafter,  and  a  prolongation  of  the  individuality  in 
an  eternal  Sukhdvati,  and  they  certainly  proclaimed 
this  more  loudly  than  the  early  Buddhists  in  their 
"  Little  Chariot." 

That  this  sweeping  antagonism  between  the  Pyrrho- 
Buddhists  and  the  Anti  -  Pyrrho  -  Buddhists  should 
have  remained  unnoticed  by  several  generations  of 
Orientalists  is  one  of  the  curiosities  of  literature, 
considering  that,  by  a  quaint  freak  of  historical 
evolution,  there  are  alive  now  millions  of  human 
beings  who  bear  overwhelming  witness  to  it.  The 
absurdities   of   Pyrrho-Buddhism  broke  up   the  Bud- 


PYRRHO-BUDDHA  147 

dhist  ascendency  in  India.  Brahminism  revived,  and 
drove  one  half  of  the  Buddhists  to  Ceylon  and  the 
south,  and  the  other  half  to  Kashmir,  Nepal,  Tibet. 

From  this  circumstance  a  very  remarkable  fact 
emerges : 

All  the  Buddhists  of  Ceylon,  all  the  Buddhists  of 
Burmah,  all  the  Buddhists  of  Siam,  are  ready  to  come 
forward  and  announce  that  Pyrrho-Buddhism  is  the 
real  Buddhism. 

On  the  other  hand,  even  the  materialistic  school 
of  Northern  Buddhism  shows  the  influence  of  the 
worshippers  of  Amitayas  Buddha. 

In  the  matter  of  Southern  Buddhism,  I  will  give 
here  a  sketch  by  a  clever  Siamese  statesman.  A  few 
years  ago  Chao  Phya  Praklang  published  a  book, 
which  has  been  partly  translated  by  Mr.  Alabaster 
under  the  title  of  The  Modern  Buddhist  Chao  Phya 
Praklang  is  a  clear  and  bold  writer.  He  announces 
that  Buddhism  denies  a  God  and  an  eternal  here- 
after.    I  will  condense  his  views. 

There  is  no  God ;  nothing  but  an  unintelligent  cau- 
sation called  Kam.  If  I  lead  a  virtuous  life  through 
Kam,  in  my  next  existence  I  obtain  the  reward  of 
riches.  If  I  lead  an  evil  life,  in  my  next  rebirth, 
through  pure  cause  and  effect,  I  may  be  a  pig.  If, 
like  Augkuliman,  I  murder  "  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  people,"  I  can  "  cut  off  the  Kam "  of  these 
murders  by  a  saintly  life.  If  as  a  child  I  mimic  my 
parents,  and  bow  to  a  Prachedi  (spire  of  a  Buddhist 
cftaitya),  even  then  I  inadvertently  store  up  meri- 
torious Kam  (Karma  of  the  Indian  Buddhists). 

Now,  it  is  impossible  to  state  more  clearly  than  this 
the  creed   of   the   Pyrrho-Buddhist,   that   human  life 


143  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

comes  from  unintelligent  Sunya,  or  Nothingness,  and 
goes  back  to  Nothingness  again.  Siam  and  Burmah 
got  their  Buddhism  from  Ceylon,  and  Ceylon  got  its 
philosophy  from  the  frantic  Pyrrho-Buddhist  Buddha- 
ghosa. 

As  a  contrast  to  all  this,  let  us  turn  to  the 
Northern  Buddhism,  as  revealed  to  Brian  Hodgson 
by  that  invaluable  Buddhist,  Amirta  Nanda  Bandhya. 
Amongst  the  Northern  Buddhists  there  are  four  great 
schools  of  philosophy.  The  first,  the  Aiswarilcas, 
believe  in  a  "  supreme,  infinite,  and  self  -  existent 
Deity."  The  second,  the  Swdbhdvikas,  are  materialists. 
Matter,  they  hold,  is  eternal,  "  and  so  are  the  powers 
of  matter,  which  powers  possess  not  only  activity, 
but  intelligence." 1  The  two  other  schools — the  Kav- 
miJcas  and  the  Ydtnikas — are  said  to  be  comparatively 
modern,  and  are  chiefly  modifications  of  the  Aiswarika 
school. 

Amitayas,  or  Amitabha,  is  the  popular  Buddha  of 
Tibet  and  China.  In  Japan  even  the  Shinto  believers 
have  adopted  him. 

"I  adore  Tathagata  Amitabha,  who  dwells  in  the 
Buddha  region  Devachan."  This  is  from  the  ritual 
of  Tibet.2 

"  One  in  spirit  respectfully  we  invoke  thee.  Hail ! 
Amitabha  Lokajit,  of  the  world  Sukhavati!"  This 
is  from  the  ritual  of  China.3 

From  the  same  ritual  is  the  following  prayer : — 

"  Oh,  would  that  our  teacher  Sakya  Muni,  and  our 
merciful  Father  Amitabha,  would  descend  to  this  sacred 

1  Hodgson,  Nepdlese  Literature,  p.  23. 

2  Schlangintweit,  Buddhism  in  Tibet,  p.  129. 
8  Catena  of  Buddhist  Scriptures,  p.  403. 


PYRRHO-BUDDHA  149 

precinct  and  be  present  with  us,  who  now  discharge 
these  religious  duties.  Would  that  the  great,  per- 
fect, illimitable,  compassionate  heart,  influenced  by 
these  invocations,  would  now  attend  and  receive  our 
offerings." 

I  have  reserved  to  the  last  one  more  service  that 
King  Asoka  has  unwittingly  rendered  to  the  modern 
study  of  Buddhism.  It  is,  as  I  judge,  the  crucial  one 
of  all.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  worthy 
monarch  was  impetuous,  courageous,  self-asserting. 
In  point  of  fact,  in  character  he  was  not  unlike 
Buddhaghosa.  Both  were  converted  Brahmins.  Both 
possessed  the  fiery  zeal  of  converts.  If  the  Buddhism 
of  King  Asoka's  date  had  been  Pyrrho-Buddhism, 
would  there  not  be  some  trace  of  it  in  the  inscriptions  ? 
Or  perhaps  the  question  might  be  better  put  in 
this  way — Would  not  Pyrrho-Buddhism  have  quite 
deluged  the  rocks  and  the  Stambhas  ?  Imagine  for  a 
moment  Buddhaghosa  in  the  king's  place.  Would  not 
his  "  Stupas  of  Commandment "  have  proclaimed  with 
emphasis  that  there  was  no  God  but  the  Eternal 
Nothing,  that  man  has  no  soul  but  the  Eternal 
Nothing,  and  no  body  to  put  it  in  if  he  had.  Would 
he  not  have  impressed  on  his  subjects  the  great  sin  of 
atmarnada,  or  a  desire  of  prolonged  life  in  the  next 
world.  It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  Pyrrho- 
Buddhism  had  its  outward  and  visible  signs  as  well 
as  its  inward  and  spiritual  grace.  These  were  the 
worship  of  Maitreya,  and  stupas  without  relics.  Is 
there  any  trace  of  these  in  King  Asoka's  day? 

To  sum  up  our  deductions  from  the  priceless  in- 
scriptions of  Asoka: 

1.  At  his  date  there  were  no  idle  monks  living  in 


ISO  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

buildings.     His  Bhikshus  were  missionaries  who  slept 
under  trees  and  preached  in  all  lands. 

2.  His  edicts  constituted  the  first  Buddhist  Bible, 
and  the  first  documents  of  the  religion  that  were 
written  down. 

3.  His  convocation  was  the  first  attempt  on  the 
part  of  the  Buddhists  to  make  up  a  religious  liter- 
ature. It  was  limited  to  the  seven  tractates  mentioned 
on  the  Second  Bairat  Rock. 

4.  It  is  absolutely  certain  that  King  Asoka  did  not 
believe  that  Buddha  at  death  ceased  to  exist,  for  he 
took  over  the  leading  superstition  of  the  Brahmins  of 
his  day,  that  a  dead  saint  was  more  powerful  than  a 
living  saint,  and  that  through  his  corpse  or  relics  he 
could  perform  miracles.  In  consequence  he  erected 
stupas  all  over  his  kingdom,  in  imitation  of  the 
Brahmin  stupas.  The  Buddhist  books  are  full  of  the 
miracles  performed  by  the  relics  of  Buddha. 

5.  It  is  also  certain  that  the  king's  creed  was  not 
atheism,  and  that,  far  from  despising  mysticism,  he 
himself  went  through  rigorous  ordeals  to  become 
"one  with  Buddha." 

6.  There  is  not  the  least  trace  of  Pyrrho-Buddha  at 
Anoka's  date,  nor  of  the  outward  indications  of  the 
movement,  namely,  the  empty  stupas  and  sculptures 
representing  Maitreya. 


CHAPTER    IX 

THE   APOSTLES   OF   THE   BLOODLESS   ALTAR 

There  are  two  Zoroasters.  One  of  these  Zoroasters 
lived  6000  years  B.C.  according  to  Darmesteter,  and 
the  other  about  500  years  B.C.  The  earlier  Zoroaster 
swathed  Persia  in  a  network  of  silly  rites  and  regula- 
tions. A  culprit  who  "  threw  away  a  dead  dog "  was 
to  receive  a  thousand  blows  with  the  horse-goad,  and 
one  thousand  with  the  Craosha  charana.  A  culprit 
who  slew  a  dog  with  a  "  prickly  back  "  and  a  "  woolly 
muzzle  "  was  to  receive  a  similar  punishment." x  This 
Zoroaster  was  particular  about  the  number  of  gnats, 
ants,  lizards  that  the  devout  were  enjoined  to  kill.2 
This  Zoroaster  proclaimed  a  god  who  loved  to  see  on 
his  altar  a  "hundred  horses,  a  thousand  cows,  ten 
thousand  small  cattle,"  and  so  on.3  But  the  second 
Zoroaster  proclaimed  a  bloodless  altar,  and  sought  to 
tear  the  network  of  the  first  Zoroaster  to  shreds. 
What  was  the  meaning  of  this  ?  Simply  that  the 
Buddhist  Wanderers  had  by  this  time  invaded  Persia, 
and  had  fastened  their  doctrines  upon  the  chief  local 
prophet.  This  was  their  habit.  A  study  of  this 
second  religion,  the  religion  of  Mithras,  will  help  us  to 
some  of  the  secrets  of  Buddhist  propagandism. 

Mr.   Felix   Oswald   cites   Wassiljew   as  announcing 
1  Fargard,  xxx.  2  Ibid.  xiv.  3  Khordah  Avesta,  xii. 

151 


152  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

that  the  Buddhist  missionaries  had  reached  Western 
Persia,  B.C.  450.  This  date  would,  of  course,  depend 
on  the  date  of  Buddha's  life  and  Buddha's  death. 
The  latter  is  now  definitely  fixed  by  Btihler's  trans- 
lation of  Asoka's  Rupnath  rock-inscription,  B.C.  470. 
Wassiljew,  citing  Daranatha,  announces  that  Made- 
antica,  a  convert  of  Ananda,  Buddha's  leading  disciple, 
reached  Ouchira  in  Kashmir.  From  Kashmir  Buddhism 
passed  promptly  to  Kandahar  and  Kabul  (p.  40). 
Thence  it  penetrated  quickly  to  Bactria,  and  soon 
invaded  "all  the  country  embraced  by  the  word 
Turkistan,  where  it  flourished  until  disturbed  by 
Mahomet." 

Tertullian  has  two  passages  which  describe  the 
religion  of  Mithras. 

He  says  that  the  devil,  to  "  pervert  the  truth,"  by 
"the  mystic  rites  of  his  idols,  vies  even  with  the 
essential  portions  of  the  sacraments  of  God.  He,  too, 
baptizes  some — that  is,  his  own  believers  and  faithful 
followers.  He  promises  the  putting  away  of  sins  by 
a  laver  (of  his  own),  and,  if  my  memory  still  serves 
me,  Mithras  there  (in  the  kingdom  of  Satan)  sets  his 
mark  on  the  foreheads  of  his  soldiers,  celebrates  also 
the  oblation  of  bread,  and  introduces  an  image  of  the 
resurrection,  and  before  a  sword  wreathes  a  crown." 1 

Here  is  another  passage : 

"Some  soldier  of  Mithras,  who  at  his  initiation  in 
the  gloomy  cavern, — in  the  camp,  it  may  well  be  said, 
of  darkness, — when  at  the  sword's  point  a  sword  is 
presented  to  him  as  though  in  mimicry  of  martyrdom, 
and  thereupon  a  crown  is  put  upon  his  head,  is 
admonished  to  resist  and  cast  it  off,  and,  if  you  like, 
1  Pres.  v.,  Hcer.  chap.  xl. 


APOSTLES  OF  BLOODLESS  ALTAR      153 

transfer  it  to  his  shoulders,  saying  that  Mithras  is  his 
crown.  He  even  has  his  virgins  and  his  ascetics 
(continentes).  Let  us  take  note  of  the  devices  of 
the  devil,  who  is  wont  to  ape  some  of  God's 
things."1 

From  this  it  is  plain  that  the  worshippers  of  Mithras 
had  the  simple  rites  of  Buddhists  and  Christians, 
baptism  and  the  bloodless  altar;  also  an  early  Free- 
masonry, which  some  detect  veiled  in  the  Indian  life  of 
Buddha.  Thus  the  incident  of  the  sword  and  crown  in 
the  Mithraic  initiation  is  plainly  based  on  the  menac- 
ing sword  of  Mara  in  the  Lalita  Vistara  and  the  crown 
that  he  offered  Buddha.  In  modern  Masonry  it  is 
feigned  that  Hiram  Abiff,  the  architect  of  Solomon's 
temple,  made  three  efforts  to  escape  from  three  assassins. 
These  are  plainly  Old  Age,  Disease,  and  Death.  He 
sought  to  evade  the  first  at  the  east  of  the  temple,  in 
the  same  way  that  Buddha  tried  to  escape  by  the 
eastern  gate.  The  second  and  third  flights  of  Hiram 
and  Buddha  were  to  the  same  points  of  the  compass. 
Then  Buddha  escaped  the  lower  life  through  the  Gate 
of  Benediction,  and  Hiram  was  killed.  The  disciples 
of  Mithras  had,  in  the  comedy  of  their  initiation, 
"  seven  tortures," — heat,  cold,  hunger,  thirst,  fire,  water, 
etc., — experiences  by  no  means  confined  to  histrionics 
in  the  experience  of  Buddha's  Wanderers.  A  modern 
mason  goes  through  the  comedy  of  giving  up  his  gold 
and  silver  and  baring  his  breast  and  feet,  a  form  that 
once  had  a  meaning.  Mithras  was  born  in  a  cave ; 
and  at  Easter  there  was  the  ceremony  called  by 
Tertullian  the  "  image  of  the  resurrection."  The  wor- 
shippers, Fermicus  tells  us,2  placed  by  night  a  stone 
1  Be  Corona,  xv.  2  De  Errore,  xxiii. 


154.  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

image  on  a  bier  in  a  cave  and  went  through  the  forms 
of  mourning.  The  dead  god  was  then  placed  in  a 
tomb,  and  after  a  time  withdrawn  from  it.  Then 
lights  were  lit,  and  poems  of  rejoicing  sounded  out,  and 
the  priest  comforted  the  devotees.  "You  shall  have 
salvation  from  your  sorrows!"  Dupuis  naturally 
compares  all  this  to  the  cierge  pascal  and  Catholic 
rites.  In  Jerusalem  the  Greek  pontiff  goes  into  the 
cave  called  Christ's  sepulchre  and  brings  out  miraculous 
fire  to  the  worshippers,  who  are  fighting  and  biting 
each  other  outside,  imaging  unconsciously  Buddha's 
great  battle  with  Mara  and  the  legions  of  hell,  its 
thunder  and  lightning  and  turmoil,  followed  by  a 
bright  coruscation,  and  by  the  angels  who  greeted  his 
victory.  This  sudden  illumination,  which  is  the  chief 
rite  of  Freemasonry,  of  Mithraism,  and  of  Christianity, 
has  oddly  enough  been  thrown  overboard  by  the 
English  Church. 

That  Mithraism  was  at  once  Freemasonry  and 
Buddhism  is  proved  by  its  great  spread.  Buddhism 
was  the  first  missionary  religion.  Judaism  and  the 
other  old  priestcrafts  were  for  a  "  chosen  people."  At 
the  epoch  of  Christ,  Mithraism  had  already  honey- 
combed the  Roman  paganism.  Experts  have  dis- 
covered its  records  in  Arthur's  Oon  and  other  British 
caves. 

A  similar  Freemasonry  was  Pythagoreanism  in 
Greece.  Colebrooke,  the  prince  of  Orientalists,  saw 
at  once  that  its  philosophy  was  purely  Buddhist.  Its 
rites  were  identical  with  those  of  the  Mithraists  and 
Essenes.  These  last  must  now  be  considered.  They 
have  this  importance,  that  they  are  due  to  a  separate 
propagandism.      Alexandria   was   built   by  the   great 


APOSTLES  OF  BLOODLESS  ALTAR      155 

invader  of  India,  to  bridge  the  East  and  the  West. 
And  an  exceptional  toleration  of  creeds  was  the 
result. 

Neander  divides  Israel  at  the  date  of  Christ  into 
three  sections : 

1.  Pharisaism,  the  "  dead  theology  of  the  letter." 

2.  Sadduceeism,  "  debasing  of  the  spiritual  life  into 
worldliness." 

3.  Essenism,  Israel  mystical  —  a  "comingling  of 
Judaism  with  the  old  Oriental  theosophy." 

Concerning  this  latter  section,  Philo  wrote  a  letter  to 
a  man  named  Hephsestion,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
portion  : 

"I  am  sorry  to  find  you  saying  that  you  are  not 
likely  to  visit  Alexandria  again.  This  restless,  wicked 
city  can  present  but  few  attractions,  I  grant,  to  a 
lover  of  philosophic  quiet.  But  I  cannot  commend  the 
extreme  to  which  I  see  so  many  hastening.  A  passion 
for  ascetic  seclusion  is  becoming  daily  more  prevalent 
among  the  devout  and  the  thoughtful,  whether  Jew  or 
Gentile.  Yet  surely  the  attempt  to  combine  contem- 
plation and  action  should  not  be  so  soon  abandoned. 
A  man  ought  at  least  to  have  evinced  some  com- 
petency for  the  discharge  of  the  social  duties  before 
he  abandons  them  for  the  divine.  First  the  less,  then 
the  greater. 

"I  have  tried  the  life  of  the  recluse.  Solitude 
brings  no  escape  from  spiritual  danger.  If  it  closes 
some  avenues  of  temptation,  there  are  few  in  whose 
case  it  does  not  open  more.  Yet  the  Therapeutaa,  a 
sect  similar  to  the  Essenes,  with  whom  you  are  ac- 
quainted, number  many  among  them  whose  lives  are 
truly  exemplary.     Their  cells  are  scattered  about  the 


156  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

region  bordering  on  the  farther  shore  of  the  Lake 
Mareotis.  The  members  of  either  sex  live  a  single 
and  ascetic  life,  spending  their  time  in  fasting  and 
contemplation,  in  prayer  or  reading.  They  believe 
themselves  favoured  with  divine  illumination  —  an 
inner  light.  They  assemble  on  the  Sabbath  for  wor- 
ship, and  listen  to  mystical  discourses  on  the  tradi- 
tionary lore  which  they  say  has  been  handed  down  in 
secret  among  themselves.  They  also  celebrate  solemn 
dances  and  processions  of  a  mystic  significance  by 
moonlight  on  the  shore  of  the  great  mere.  Some- 
times, on  an  occasion  of  public  rejoicing,  the  margin  of 
the  lake  on  our  side  will  be  lit  with  a  fiery  chain  of 
illuminations,  and  galleys,  hung  with  lights,  row  to 
and  fro  with  strains  of  music  sounding  over  the  broad 
water.  Then  the  Therapeutse  are  all  hidden  in  their 
little  hermitages,  and  these  sights  and  sounds  of  the 
world  they  have  abandoned  make  them  withdraw  into 
themselves  and  pray. 

"  Their  principle,  at  least,  is  true.  The  soul  which 
is  occupied  with  things  above,  and  is  initiated  into  the 
mysteries  of  the  Lord,  cannot  but  account  the  body 
evil,  and  even  hostile.  The  soul  of  man  is  divine,  and 
his  highest  wisdom  is  to  become  as  much  as  possible  a 
stranger  to  the  body  with  its  embarrassing  appetites. 
God  has  breathed  into  man  from  heaven  a  portion  of 
His  own  divinity.  That  which  is  divine  is  invisible. 
It  may  be  extended,  but  it  is  incapable  of  separation. 
Consider  how  vast  is  the  range  of  our  thought  over 
the  past  and  the  future,  the  heavens  and  the  earth. 
This  alliance  with  an  upper  world,  of  which  we  are 
conscious,  would  be  impossible  were  not  the  soul  of 
man  an  indivisible  portion  of  that  divine  and  blessed 


APOSTLES  OF  BLOODLESS  ALTAR      157 

spirit.  Contemplation  of  the  divine  essence  is  the 
noblest  exercise  of  man ;  it  is  the  only  means  of  attain- 
ing to  the  highest  truth  and  virtue,  and  therein  to 
behold  God  is  the  consummation  of  our  happiness 
here." 

Here  we  have  the  higher  Buddhism,  which  seeks  to 
reach  the  plane  of  spirit,  an  "  alliance  with  the  upper 
world"  by  the  aid  of  solitary  reverie.  That  Philo 
knew  where  this  religion  had  come  from  is,  I  think, 
proved  by  another  passage. 

"Among  the  Persians  there  is  the  order  of  Magi 
who  deeply  investigate  the  works  of  nature  for  the 
discovery  of  truth,  and  in  leisure's  quiet  are  initiated 
into  and  expound  in  clearest  significance  the  divine 
virtues. 

"  In  India,  too,  there  is  the  sect  of  the  Gyninoso- 
phists,  who,  in  addition  to  speculative  philosophy, 
diligently  cultivate  the  ethical  also,  and  have  made 
their  life  an  absolute  ensample  of  virtue. 

"Palestine,  moreover,  and  Syria  are  not  without 
their  harvest  of  virtuous  excellence,  which  region  is 
inhabited  by  no  small  portion  of  the  very  populous 
nation  of  the  Jews.  There  are  counted  amongst  them 
certain  ones,  by  name  Essenes,  in  number  about  four 
thousand,  who  derive  their  name,  in  my  opinion,  by  an 
inaccurate  trace  from  the  term  in  the  Greek  language  for 
holiness  (Essen  or  Essaios — Hosios,  holy),  inasmuch  as 
they  have  shown  themselves  pre-eminent  by  devotion 
to  the  service  of  God ;  not  in  the  sacrifice  of  living 
animals,  but  rather  in  the  determination  to  make  their 
own  minds  fit  for  a  holy  offering." * 

Plainly  here  the  Essenes  are  pronounced  of  the  same 

1  Philo,  "Every  virtuous  man  is  free." 


158  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

faith  as  the  Gymnosophists  of  India,  who  abstain  from 
the  bloody  sacrifice,  that  is  the  Buddhists. 

In  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  15th  July  1888,  M. 
Emile  Burnouf  has  an  article  entitled  "  Le  Bouddhisme 
en  Occident." 

M.  Burnouf  holds  that  the  Christianity  of  the 
Council  of  Nice  was  due  to  a  conflict  between  the 
Aryan  and  the  Semite,  between  Buddhism  and 
Mosaism : 

"History  and  comparative  mythology  are  teaching 
every  day  more  plainly  that  creeds  grow  slowly  up. 
None  come  into  the  world  ready-made,  and  as  if  by 
magic.  The  origin  of  events  is  lost  in  the  infinite. 
A  great  Indian  poet  has  said,  'The  beginning  of 
things  evades  us ;  their  end  evades  us  also.  We  see 
only  the  middle.' " 

M.  Burnouf  asserts  that  the  Indian  origin  of  Chris- 
tianity is  no  longer  contested :  "  It  has  been  placed  in 
full  light  by  the  researches  of  scholars,  and  notably 
English  scholars,  and  by  the  publication  of  the  original 
texts.  ...  In  point  of  fact,  for  a  long  time  folks  had 
been  struck  with  the  resemblances,  or  rather  the 
identical  elements,  contained  in  Christianity  and 
Buddhism.  Writers  of  the  firmest  faith  and  most 
sincere  piety  have  admitted  them.  In  the  last  cen- 
tury these  analogies  were  set  down  to  the  Nestorians, 
but  since  then  the  science  of  Oriental  chronology 
has  come  into  being,  and  proved  that  Buddha  is 
many  years  anterior  to  Nestorius  and  Jesus.  Thus 
the  Nestorian  theory  had  to  be  given  up.  But  a 
thing  may  be  posterior  to  another  without  proving 
derivation.  So  the  problem  remained  unsolved 
until   recently,    when    the    pathway    that    Buddhism 


APOSTLES  OF  BLOODLESS  ALTAR      159 

followed  was  traced  step  by  step  from  India  to 
Jerusalem." 

Another  eminent  French  Orientalist,  M.  Leon  de 
Rosny,  in  a  lengthy  digest  of  the  present  writer's 
Influence  of  Buddhism  on  Primitive  Christianity, 
in  the  XXme  Siecle,  writes  with  equal  conviction : 

"The  astonishing  points  of  contact  (ressemblances 
etonnantes)  between  the  popular  legend  of  Buddha 
and  that  of  Christ,  the  almost  absolute  similarity  of 
the  moral  lessons  given  to  the  world,  at  five  centuries' 
interval,  between  these  two  peerless  teachers  of  the 
human  race,  the  striking  affinities  between  the  customs 
of  the  Buddhists  and  of  the  Essenes,  of  whom  Christ 
must  have  been  a  disciple,  suggest  at  once  an  Indian 
origin  to  Primitive  Christianity." 

This  raises  a  great  question.  I  have  treated  it 
at  length  in  my  Buddhism  in  Christendom,  and 
have  little  space  left.  To  begin  with, — was  Jesus  an 
Essene  ? 

Historical  questions  are  sometimes  made  more  clear 
by  being  treated  broadly.  Let  us  first  deal  with  this 
from  the  impersonal  side,  leaving  out  altogether  the 
alleged  words  and  deeds  of  Christ,  Paul,  etc.  Fifty 
years  before  Christ's  birth  there  was  a  sect  dwelling 
in  the  stony  waste  where  John  prepared  a  people  for 
the  Lord.  Fifty  years  after  Christ's  death  there  was 
a  sect  in  the  same  part  of  Palestine.  The  sect  that 
existed  fifty  years  before  Christ  was  called  Essenes, 
Therapeuts,  Gnostics,  Nazarites.  The  sect  that  existed 
fifty  years  after  Christ's  death  was  called  "  Essenes 
or  Jesseans"  according  to  Epiphanius,  Therapeuts, 
Gnostics,  Nazarites,  and  not  Christians  until  after- 
wards. 


160  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

Each  had  two  prominent  rites:  baptism,  and  what 
Tertullian  calls  the  "oblation  of  bread."  Each  had 
for  officers,  deacons,  presbyters,  ephemereuts.  Each 
sect  had  monks,  nuns,  celibacy,  community  of  goods. 
Each  interpreted  the  Old  Testament  in  a  mystical 
way, — so  mystical,  in  fact,  that  it  enabled  each  to 
discover  that  the  bloody  sacrifice  of  Mosaism  was 
forbidden,  not  enjoined.  The  most  minute  likenesses 
have  been  pointed  out  between  these  two  sects  by  all 
Catholic  writers  from  Eusebius  and  Origen  to  the 
poet  Racine,  who  translated  Philo's  Contemplative 
Life  for  the  benefit  of  pious  court  ladies.  Was  there 
any  connection  between  these  two  sects?  It  is 
difficult  to  conceive  that  there  can  be  two  answers 
to  such  a  question. 

And  if  it  can  be  proved,  as  Bishop  Lightfoot  affirms, 
that  Christ  was  an  anti-Essene,  who  announced  that 
His  mission  was  to  preserve  intact  every  jot  and  tittle 
of  Mosaism  as  interpreted  by  the  recognised  inter- 
preters, this  would  simply  show  that  he  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  movement  to  which  his  name  has  been 
given. 

The  first  prominent  fact  of  His  life  is  His  baptism 
by  John.  If  John  was  an  Essene,  the  full  meaning  of 
this  may  be  learnt  from  Josephus : 

"  To  one  that  aims  at  entering  their  sect,  admission 
is  not  immediate ;  but  he  remains  a  whole  year  out- 
side it,  and  is  subjected  to  their  rule  of  life,  being  in- 
vested with  an  axe,  the  girdle  aforesaid,  and  a  white 
garment.  Provided  that  over  this  space  of  time  he 
has  given  proof  of  his  perseverance,  he  approaches 
nearer  to  this  course  of  life,  and  partakes  of  the  holier 
water  of  cleansing;  but  he  is  not  admitted  to  their 


APOSTLES  OF  BLOODLESS  ALTAR      161 

community  of  life.  Following  the  proof  of  his 
strength  of  control,  his  moral  conduct  is  tested  for 
two  years  more;  and  when  he  has  made  clear  his 
worthiness,  he  is  then  adjudged  to  be  of  their  number. 
But  before  he  touches  the  common  meal,  he  pledges 
to  them  in  oaths  to  make  one  shudder,  first,  that  he 
will  reverence  the  Divine  Being;  and  secondly,  that 
he  will  abide  in  justice  unto  men,  and  will  injure  no 
one,  either  of  his  own  accord  or  by  command,  but 
will  always  detest  the  iniquitous,  and  strive  on  the 
side  of  the  righteous ;  that  he  will  ever  show  fidelity 
to  all,  and  most  of  all  to  those  who  are  in  power,  for 
to  no  one  comes  rule  without  God;  and  that,  if  he 
become  a  ruler  himself,  he  will  never  carry  insolence 
into  his  authority,  or  outshine  those  placed  under  him 
by  dress  or  any  superior  adornment;  that  he  will 
always  love  truth,  and  press  forward  to  convict  those 
that  tell  lies ;  that  he  will  keep  his  hands  from  pecu- 
lation, and  his  soul  pure  from  unholy  gain;  that  he 
will  neither  conceal  anything  from  the  brethren  of 
his  order,  nor  babble  to  others  any  of  their  secrets, 
even  though  in  the  presence  of  force  and  at  the  hazard 
of  his  life.  In  addition  to  all  this,  they  take  oath  not 
to  communicate  the  doctrines  to  any  one  in  any  other 
way  than  as  imparted  to  themselves ;  to  abstain  from 
robbery,  and  to  keep  close,  with  equal  care,  the  books 
of  their  sect  and  the  names  of  the  angels.  Such  are 
the  oaths  by  which  they  receive  those  that  join 
them."1 

As  a  pendant  to  this,  I  will  give  the  early  Christian 
initiation  from  the  Clementine  Homilies. 

"If  any  one  having  been  tested  is  found  worthy, 

1  Josephus,  Be  B.  J.  ii.  8,  2,  13. 
II 


162  BUDDHA   AND  BUDDHISM 

then  they  hand  over  to  him  according  to  the  initiation 
of  Moses,  by  which  he  delivered  his  books  to  the 
Seventy  who  succeeded  to  his  chair." 

These  books  are  only  to  be  delivered  to  "  one  who 
is  good  and  religious,  and  who  wishes  to  teach,  and 
who  is  circumcised  and  faithful." 

"Wherefore  let  him  be  proved  not  less  than  six 
3^ears,  and  then,  according  to  the  initiation  of  Moses, 
he  (the  initiator)  should  bring  him  to  a  river  or 
fountain,  which  is  living  water,  where  the  regenera- 
tion of  the  righteous  takes  place."  The  novice  then 
calls  to  witness  heaven,  earth,  water,  and  air,  that  he 
will  keep  secret  the  teachings  of  these  holy  books, 
and  guard  them  from  falling  into  profane  hands,  under 
the  penalty  of  becoming  "  accursed,  living  and  dying, 
and  being  punished  with  everlasting  punishment." 

"  After  this  let  him  partake  of  bread  and  salt  with 
him  who  commits  them  to  him." 

Now,  if,  as  is  believed  by  Dr.  Lightfoot,  the  chief 
object  of  Christ's  mission  was  to  establish  for  ever  the 
Mosaism  of  the  bloody  altar,  and  combat  the  main 
teaching  of  the  ctvxyjrrjg,  or  mystic,  which  "postulates 
the  false  principle  of  the  malignity  of  matter,"  why 
did  He  go  to  an  affzrjTrjg  to  be  baptized  ?  Whether  or 
not  Christ  belonged  to  mystical  Israel,  there  can  be 
no  discussion  about  the  Baptist.  He  was  a  Nazarite 
"  separated  from  his  mother's  womb,"  who  had  induced 
a  whole  "  people  "  to  come  out  to  the  desert  and  adopt 
the  Essene  rites  and  their  community  of  goods.  And 
we  see,  from  a  comparison  of  the  Essene  and  early 
Christian  initiations,  what  such  baptism  carried  with 
it.  It  implied  preliminary  instruction  and  vows  of 
implicit  obedience  to  the  instructor. 


APOSTLES  OF  BLOODLESS  ALTAR      163 

It  is  plain  too  that  the  Essene  Christ  knows  at 
first  nothing  of  any  antagonism  to  His  teacher. 

"  The  law  and  the  prophets  were  until  John.  Since 
that  time  the  kingdom  of  God  is  preached,  and  every 
man  presseth  into  it"  (Luke  xvi.  16). 

This  shows  that  far  from  believing  that  He  had 
come  to  preserve  the  Mosaism  of  the  bloody  altar,  He 
considered  that  John  and  the  Essenes  had  power  to 
abrogate  it. 

Listen,  too,  to  Christ's  instructions  to  his  twelve 
disciples : 

"  As  ye  go,  preach,  saying  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  at  hand." 

This  is  the  simple  gospel  of  John  : 

"  Provide  neither  gold  nor  silver  nor  brass  in  your 
purses,  nor  scrip  for  your  journey,  neither  two  coats, 
neither  shoes." 

Here  again  we  have  the  barefooted  Essenes  without 
silver  or  gold.  "  He  that  hath  two  coats  let  him  im- 
part to  him  that  hath  none,"  said  the  Baptist.  "  And 
into  whatsoever  city  or  town  ye  shall  enter,  inquire 
who  in  it  is  worthy ;  and  there  abide  till  ye  go  thence. 
And  when  ye  come  into  an  house,  salute  it.  And  if 
the  house  be  worthy,  let  your  peace  come  upon  it; 
but  if  it  be  not  worthy,  let  your  peace  return  to  you. 
And  whosoever  shall  not  receive  you,  nor  hear  your 
words,  when  ye  depart  out  of  that  house  or  city,  shake 
off  the  dust  of  your  feet.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  It 
shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrha  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  that  city. 
Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of 
wolves:  be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents,  and  harm- 
less as  doves.      But  beware  of   men;    for   they  will 


1 64  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

deliver  you  up  to  the  councils,  and  they  will  scourge 
you  in  their  synagogues;  and  ye  shall  be  brought 
before  governors  and  kings  for  my  sake,  for  a  testi- 
mony against  them  and  the  Gentiles.  But  when  they 
deliver  you  up,  take  no  thought  how  or  what  ye  shall 
speak;  for  it  shall  be  given  you  in  that  same  hour 
what  ye  shall  speak.  For  it  is  not  ye  that  speak, 
but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  which  speaketh  in  you. 
And  the  brother  shall  deliver  up  the  brother  to  death, 
and  the  father  the  child:  and  the  children  shall  rise 
up  against  their  parents,  and  cause  them  to  be  put 
to  death.  And  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  men  for  my 
name's  sake :  but  he  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall 
be  saved." 

This  passage  is  remarkable.  No  Christian  disciple 
had  yet  begun  to  preach,  and  yet  what  do  we  find  ? 
A  vast  secret  organisation  in  every  city.  It  is  com- 
posed of  those  who  are  "  worthy  "  (the  word  used  by 
Josephus  for  Essene  initiates);  and  they  are  plainly 
bound  to  succour  the  brethren  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives.  This  shows  that  Christ's  movement  was  affili- 
ated with  an  earlier  propagandism. 

There  is  another  question.  On  the  hypothesis 
that  Christ  was  an  orthodox  Jew,  why  should 
He,  plainly  knowing  beforehand  what  mistakes  and 
bloodshed  it  would  cause,  make  His  disciples  mimic 
the  Essenes  in  externals  ?  The  Essenes  had  two 
main  rites,  baptism  and  the  bloodless  oblation.  Christ 
adopted  them.  The  Essenes  had  a  new  name  on  con- 
version. 

"Thou  shalt  be  called  Cephas,  which  is,  by  inter- 
pretation, a  stone  "  (John  i.  42). 

The  Essenes  had  community  of  goods : 


APOSTLES  OF  BLOODLESS  ALTAR      165 

"And  all  that  believed  were  together,  and  had  all 
things  common  "  (Acts  ii.  44). 

"  If  thou  wilt  be  perfect,  go  and  sell  that  thou  hast, 
and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in 
heaven ;  and  come  and  follow  me"  (Matt.  xix.  21). 

A  rigid  continence  was  exacted  : 

"All  men  cannot  receive  this  saying,  save  they  to 
whom  it  is  given.  .  .  .  There  be  eunuchs  which  have 
made  themselves  eunuchs  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven's 
sake.  He  that  is  able  to  receive  it,  let  him  receive  it" 
(Matt.  xix.  11,  12). 

"  And  I  looked,  and,  lo !  a  Lamb  stood  on  Mount 
Zion,  and  with  him  an  hundred  and  forty  -  four 
thousand,  having  his  Father's  name  written  on  their 
foreheads.  .  .  .  These  are  they  which  were  not 
defiled  with  women,  for  they  are  virgins"  (Rev.  xiv. 
1,  4). 

Divines  tell  us  that  this  first  passage  is  to  have 
only  a  "  spiritual "  interpretation.  It  forbids  not 
marriage,  but  excess.  We  might  listen  to  this  if  we 
had  not  historical  cognisance  of  a  sect  in  Palestine 
at  this  date  which  enforced  celibacy  in  its  monas- 
teries. The  second  passage  shows  that  the  disciples 
understood  Him  literally. 

The  bloody  sacrifice  forbidden : 

"  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice  "  (Matt.  ix.  13). 

"Unless  ye  cease  from  sacrificing,  the  wrath  shall 
not  cease  from  you."1 

Bishop  Lightfoot,  as  I  have  mentioned,  considers 
that  Jesus  was  an  orthodox  Jew,  whose  mission  was 
to  perpetuate  every  jot  and  tittle  of  Mosaism ;  and 
that  "  emancipation  "  from   the  "  swathing-bands  "  of 

1  Cited  from  Gospel  of  the  Hebrews  by  Epiphanius,  Hcer.  xxx.  16. 


1 66  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

the  law  came  from  the  Apostles.1  It  might  be  thought 
that  this  was  a  quaint  undertaking  for  the  Maker  of 
the  million  million  starry  systems  to  come  to  this 
insignificant  planet  in  bodily  form  to  "  perpetuate " 
institutions  that  Titus  in  thirty  years  was  to  end  for 
ever;  even  if  we  could  forget  that  human  sacrifices, 
concubinage,  polygamy,  slavery,  and  border  raids  were 
amongst  these  institutions.  But  if  this  Christ  is  the 
historical  Christ,  it  appears  to  me  that  we  must 
eliminate  the  Christ  of  the  Gospels  almost  entirely. 
For  capital  offences  against  the  Mosaic  law,  the 
recognised  authorities  three  times  sought  the  life  of 
Jesus,  twice  after  formal  condemnation  by  the 
Sanhedrim.  These  offences  were  Sabbath-breaking, 
witchcraft,  and  speaking  against  Mosaic  institutions. 
According  to  the  Synoptics,  He  never  went  to 
Jerusalem  during  His  ministry  until  just  the  end  of 
it;  although  the  three  visits  for  the  yearly  festivals 
were  rigidly  exacted. 

In  my  Buddhism  in  Christendom  I  give  reasons 
for  supposing  that  the  "multitudes,"  whose  sudden 
appearance  in  stony  wastes  have  bewildered  critics, 
were  in  reality  the  gatherings  for  the  Therapeut 
festivals  described  by  Philo. 

Bishop  Lightfoot  makes  much  of  the  fact  that 
John's  Gospel  makes  Christ  go  up  once  for  the  feast 
of  tabernacles.  But  did  He  go  as  an  orthodox 
worshipper,  to  present  His  offerings  for  the  blood}^ 
sacrifice  ?  On  the  contrary,  on  this  very  occasion 
He  was  accused  of  Sabbath-breaking  and  demoniac 
possession ;  and  the  rulers  of  the  people  sent  officers 
to  arrest  Him. 

1  Com.  on  Galatians,  pp.  286,  287. 


APOSTLES  OF  BLOODLESS  ALTAR      167 

It  must  be  mentioned,  too,  that  Hegesippus,  the  earliest 
Christian  historian,  gives  a  very  remarkable  picture  of 
Junes,  who  ruled  the  Christian  body  after  Christ's  death: 

'  He  was  consecrated  from  his  mother's  womb.  He 
drcnk  neither  wine  nor  strong  drink,  neither  ate  he 
anj  living  thing.  A  razor  never  went  upon  his  head. 
He  anointed  not  himself  with  oil,  nor  did  he  use  a 
bath  He  alone  was  allowed  to  enter  into  the  holies. 
For  he  did  not  wear  woollen  garments,  but  linen. 
And  he  alone  entered  the  sanctuary  and  was  found 
upon  his  knees  praying  for  the  forgiveness  of  the 
people,  so  that  his  knees  became  hard  like  a  camel's 
through  his  constant  bending  and  supplication  before 
God,  aid  asking  for  forgiveness  for  the  people."1 

Here  we  have  the  chief  apostle  depicted  as  an 
Essene  of  Essenes.  He  rejects  wine  and  flesh  meat. 
And  the  "  temple  "  of  the  Essenes  was  plainly  not  the 
Jewish  temple.  The  temple  guards  would  have  made 
short  work  of  any  one  rash  enough  to  attempt  to  enter 
the  Holy  of  Holies. 

Epiphmius  adds  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee  to  the 
list  of  the  ascetics,  and  also  announces  that  James,  the 
chief  apostle,  entered  the  Holy  of  Holies  once  a  year. 
He  gives  another  detail,  that  the  Christian  bishop  wore 
the  bactreum  or  metal  plate  of  the  high  priest.2 

Clemert  of  Alexandria  gives  a  similar  account  of  St. 
Matthew 

"  It  is  far  better  to  be  happy  than  to  have  a  demon 
dwelling  in  us.  And  happiness  is  found  in  the  practice 
of  virtue.  Accordingly,  the  Apostle  Matthew  partook 
of  seeds,  and  nuts,  and  vegetables  without  flesh."3 

1  Eusebius,  Hist  Ecel.  ii.  33.  2  Epiph.  Hcer.  lxxviii.  13.  41. 

3  P<rdag.  ii.  1. 


168  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

The  Clementine  Homilies  give  a  far  more  authentic 
picture  of  the  Church  of  Jerusalem  than  the  Acts.  In 
them  St.  Peter  thus  describes  himself : 

"  The  Prophet  of  the  Truth  who  appeared  on  earuh 
taught  us  that  the  Maker  and  God  of  all  gave  t;vo 
kingdoms  to  two  (beings),  good  and  evil,  granting  to 
the  evil  the  sovereignty  over  the  present  world.  .  . 
Those  men  who  choose  the  present  have  power  to  be 
rich,  to  revel  in  luxury,  to  indulge  in  pleasures,  ard  to 
do  whatever  they  can ;  for  they  will  possess  none  of 
the  future  goods.  But  those  who  have  determined  to 
accept  the  blessings  of  the  future  reign  have  no  right 
to  regard  as  their  own  the  things  that  are  here  since 
they  belong  to  a  foreign  king,  with  the  exception  only 
of  water  and  bread  and  those  things  procured  with 
sweat  to  maintain  life  (for  it  is  not  lawful  to  commit 
suicide) ;  and  also  only  one  garment,  for  they  are  not 
permitted  to  go  naked."1 

A  word  here  about  the  Sepher  Toldoth  Jeshu,  a 
work  which  orthodoxy  as  usual  would  modernise  over- 
much. It  is  a  brief  sketch  of  Christ's  life,  and  at  any 
rate  represents  the  Jewish  tradition  of  that  important 
event.  It  announces  that  the  Saviour  was  hanged  on 
a  tree  for  sorcery.  After  that  there  was  a  bitter  strife 
between  the  "  Nazarenes "  and  the  "  Judeans."  The 
former,  headed  by  Simon  Ben  Kepha  (who,  "  According 
to  his  precept,"  abstained  from  all  food,  and  only  ate 
"the  bread  of  misery"  and  drank  the  "water  of 
sorrow  "),  altered  all  the  dates  of  the  Jewisli  festivals 
to  make  them  fit  in  with  events  in  Christ's  ]ife.  This 
seems  to  make  Peter  and  the  "  Nazarenes"  or  Nazarites 
water- drinking  vegetarian  ascetics. 
1  Clem.  Hmn.  xv.  7. 


CHAPTER    X 

MORE    COINCIDENCES 

I  HAVE  shown  certain  curious  points  of  contact  be- 
tween the  Buddhist  and  the  Christian  scriptures. 
Here  are  a  few  more. 

"Then  was  Jesus  led  up  by  the  Spirit  into  the 
Wilderness,  to  be  tempted  of  the  Devil" 

Comfortable  dowagers  driving  to  church  three  times 
on  Sunday  would  be  astonished  to  learn  that  the 
essence  of  Christianity  is  in  this  passage.  Its  mean- 
ing has  quite  passed  away  from  Protestantism,  almost 
from  Christendom.  The  Lalica  Vistara  fully  shows 
what  that  meaning  is.  Without  Buddhism  it  would  be 
lost.  Jesus  was  an  Essene,  and  the  Essene,  like  the 
Indian  Yogi, sought  to  obtain  divine  union  and  the  "gifts 
of  the  Spirit "  by  solitary  reverie  in  retired  spots.  In 
what  is  called  the  "  Monastery  of  our  Lord "  on  the 
Quarantania,  a  cell  is  shown  with  rude  frescoes  of 
Jesus  and  Satan.  There,  according  to  tradition,  the 
demoniac  hauntings  that  all  mystics  speak  of  occurred. 

"I  have  Need  to  be  baptized  of  Thee" 

A  novice  in  Yoga  has  a  guru,  or  teacher.  Buddha, 
in  riding  away  from  the  palace,  by  and  by  reached  a 


i;o  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

jungle  near  Vaisali.  He  at  once  put  himself  under  a 
Brahmin  Yogi  named  Arata  Kalama,  but  his  spiritual 
insight  developed  so  rapidly  that  in  a  short  time  the 
Yogi  offered  to  Buddha  the  arghya,  the  offering  of 
rice,  flowers,  sesamun,  etc.,  that  the  humble  novice 
usually  presents  to  his  instructor,  and  asked  him  to 
teach  instead  of  learning.1 

Thirty  Years  of  Age 
M.  Ernest  de  Bunsen,  in  his  work,  The  Angel  Messiah, 
says  that  Buddha,  like  Christ,  commenced  preaching  at 
thirty  years  of  age.  He  certainly  must  have  preached 
at  Vaisali,  for  live  young  men  became  his  disciples 
there,  and  exhorted  him  to  go  on  with  his  teaching.2 
He  was  twenty-nine  when  he  left  the  palace,  therefore 
he  might  well  have  preached  at  thirty.  He  did  not 
turn  the  wheel  of  the  law  until  after  a  six  years' 
meditation  under  the  Tree  of  Knowledge. 

Baptism 

The  Buddhist  rite  of  baptism  finds  its  sanction  in 
two  incidents  in  the  Buddhist  scriptures.  In  the  first, 
Buddha  bathes  in  the  holy  river,  and  Mara,  the  evil 
spirit,  tries  to  prevent  him  from  emerging.  In  the 
second,  angels  administer  the  holy  rite  (Abhisheka). 

"And  when  He  had  fasted  Forty  Days  and 
Forty  Nights" 

Buddha,  immediately  previous  to  his  great  encounter 
with  Mara,  the  tempter,  fasted  forty-nine  days  and 
nights.3 

1  Foucaux,  Lalita  Vislara,  p.  228.  2  Lalita  Vistara,  p.  236. 

3  Chinese  Life,  by  Wung  Puh. 


MORE  COINCIDENCES  171 

"  Command  that  these  Stones  be  made  Bread  " 

The  first  temptation  of  Buddha,  when  Mara  assailed 
him,  appealed  to  his  hunger,  as  we  have  seen. 

The  twelve  great  Disciples 

"Except  in  my  religion,  the  twelve  great  disciples 
are  not  to  be  found."1 

"The  Disciple  whom  Jesus  loved" 

One  disciple  was  called  Upatishya  (the  beloved 
disciple).  In  a  former  existence  he  and  Maudgaly- 
ayana  had  prayed  that  they  might  sit,  the  one  on 
the  right  hand  and  the  other  on  the  left.  Buddha 
granted  this  prayer.  The  other  disciples  murmured 
much.2 

"Go  ye  into  all  the  World" 

From  Benares  Buddha  sent  forth  the  sixty-one 
disciples.  "  Go  ye  forth,"  he  said,  "  and  preach  Dharma, 
no  two  disciples  going  the  same  way."3 

"The  Same  came  to  Jesus  by  Night" 

Professor  Rhys  Davids  points  out  that  Yasas,  a 
young  rich  man,  came  to  Buddha  by  night  for  fear  of 
his  rich  relations. 

Pax  Vobiscum 

On  one  point  I  have  been  a  little  puzzled.  The 
password  of  the  Buddhist  Wanderers  was  Sadhu ! 
which  does  not  seem   to  correspond   with   the  "  Pax 

1  Bigandet,  p.  301.  2  Ibid.  p.  153.  3  Ibid.  p.  126. 


172  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

Vobiscum  ! "  (Matt.  x.  13)  of  Christ's  disciples.  But  I 
have  just  come  across  a  passage  in  Renan 1  which  shows 
that  the  Hebrew  word  was  Schalom  !  (bonheur  /).  This 
is  almost  a  literal  translation  of  Sadhu  ! 

Burnouf  says  that  by  preaching  and  miracle 
Buddha's  religion  was  established.  In  point  of  fact, 
it  was  the  first  universal  religion.  He  invented  the 
preacher  and  the  missionary. 

"A  new  Commandment  give  I  you,  that  ye  love 
One  Another" 

"By  love  alone  can  we  conquer  wrath.  By  good 
alone  can  we  conquer  evil.  The  whole  world  dreads 
violence.  All  men  tremble  in  the  presence  of  death. 
Do  to  others  that  which  ye  would  have  them  do  to 
you.     Kill  not.     Cause  no  death."2 

The  Beatitudes 

The  Buddhists,  like  the  Christians,  have  got  their 
Beatitudes.  They  are  plainly  arranged  for  chant  and 
response  in  the  temples.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the 
Christian  Beatitudes  were  a  portion  of  the  early 
Christian  ritual. 

The  "  long  suffering  and  meek,"  those  "  who  follow 
a  peaceful  calling,"  those  who  are  not  "  weary  in  well- 
doing" are  included  in  the  catalogue. 

Here  is  one  verse : 

"  10  Self-restraint  and  purity, 

The  knowledge  of  noble  truths, 
The  attainment  of  Nirvana, — 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing." 

1  Les  Apotres,  p.  22.  2  "Sfttra  of  Forty-two  Sections,"  v.  129. 


MORE  COINCIDENCES  173 

The  One  Thing  needful 

Certain  subtle  questions  were  proposed  to  Buddha, 
such  as  :  What  will  best  conquer  the  evil  passions  of 
man  ?  What  is  the  most  savoury  gift  for  the  alms- 
bowl  of  the  mendicant  ?  Where  is  true  happiness  to 
be  found  ?  Buddha  replied  to  them  all  with  one  word, 
Dharma  (the  heavenly  life).1 


"Whosoever  shall  smite  thee  on  thy  Right 
Cheek  offer  him  the  Other  also" 

A  merchant  from  Sunaparanta  having  joined  Bud- 
dha's society,  was  desirous  of  preaching  to  his  relations, 
and  is  said  to  have  asked  the  permission  of  the  master 
so  to  do. 

"  The  people  of  Sunaparanta,"  said  Buddha,  "  are 
exceedingly  violent ;  if  they  revile  you,  what  will  you 
do?" 

"  I  will  make  no  reply,"  said  the  mendicant. 

"  And  if  they  strike  you  ?  " 

"  I  will  not  strike  in  return,"  said  the  mendicant. 

"  And  if  they  kill  you  ?  " 

"  Death,"  said  the  missionary,  "  is  no  evil  in  itself. 
Many  even  desire  it  to  escape  from  the  vanities  of 
life."2 

Buddha's  Third  Commandment 

"Commit  no  adultery."  Commentary  by  Buddha: 
"  This  law  is  broken  by  even  looking  at  the  wife  of 
another  with  a  lustful  mind."3 

1  Bigandet,  p.  225.  2  Ibid.  p.  216. 

3  Buddhaghosa's  Parables,  by  Max  Miiller  and  Rodgers,  p.  153. 


174  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

The  Sower 

It  is  recorded  that  Buddha  once  stood  beside  the 
ploughman  Kasibharadvaja,  who  reproved  him  for  his 
idleness.  Buddha  answered  thus :  "  I,  too,  plough 
and  sow,  and  from  my  ploughing  and  sowing  I  reap 
immortal  fruit.  My  field  is  religion.  The  weeds  that 
I  pluck  up  are  the  passions  of  cleaving  to  this  life. 
My  plough  is  wisdom,  my  seed  purity."1 

On  another  occasion  he  described  almsgiving  as 
being  like  "  good  seed  sown  on  a  good  soil  that  yields 
an  abundance  of  fruits.  But  alms  given  to  those  who 
are  yet  under  the  tyrannical  yoke  of  the  passions  are 
like  a  seed  deposited  in  a  bad  soil.  The  passions  of 
the  receiver  of  the  alms  choke,  as  it  were,  the  growth 
of  merits."2 

"Not  that  which  goeth  into  the  Mouth 
defileth  a  man  " 

In  the  Sutta  Nipdta  (chap,  ii.)  is  a  discourse  on 
the  food  that  defiles  a  man  (Amaghanda).  Therein  it 
is  explained  at  some  length  that  the  food  that  is  eaten 
cannot  defile  a  man,  but  "  destroying  living  beings, 
killing,  cutting,  binding,  stealing,  falsehood,  adultery, 
evil  thoughts,  murder" — this  defiles  a  man,  not  the 
eating  of  flesh. 

"Where  your  Treasure  is" 

"  A  man,"  says  Buddha,  "  buries  a  treasure  in  a  deep 
pit,  which  lying  concealed  therein  day  after  day  profits 
him  nothing,  but  there  is  a  treasure  of  charity,  piety  ^ 
1  Hardy  Manual,  p.  215.  2  Bigandet,  p.  211. 


MORE  COINCIDENCES  175 

temperance,  soberness,  a  treasure  secure,  impregnable, 
that  cannot  pass  away,  a  treasure  that  no  thief  can 
steal.  Let  the  wise  man  practise  Dharma.  This  is  a 
treasure  that  follows  him  after  death."1 

The  House  on  the  Sand 

"It   [the  seen  world]   is   like  a  city  of   sand.     Its 
foundation  cannot  endure."2 

Blind  Guides 

"  Who  is  not  freed  cannot  free  others.     The  blind 
cannot  guide  in  the  way."  3 

"  AS   YE   SOW,   SO   SHALL   YE    REAP  " 

"  As  men  sow,  thus  shall  they  reap."  4 

"  A  Cup  of  cold  Water  to  one  of  these 
little  Ones" 

"  Whosoever  piously  bestows  a  little  water  shall  re- 
ceive an  ocean  in  return."  5 

"Be  not  weary  in  Well-Doing" 
"  Not  to  be  weary  in  well-doing."  6 

"Give  to  him  that  asketh" 

"  Give  to  him  that  asketh,  even  though  it  be  but  a 
little."7 

1  KhuddaJca  Pdtha,  p.  13.  2  Lalita  Vistara,  p.  172. 

3  Ibid.  p.  179.  4  Ta-chwang-yan-khig-lun,  serm.  57. 

5  Ibid,  serin.  20.  6  MaMmangala  Sutta,  ver.  7. 

7  Uddnavarga,  chap.  xx.  ver.  15. 


176  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

"Do  unto  Others,"  etc. 

"  With  pure  thoughts  and  fulness  of  love  I  will  do 
towards  others  what  I  do  for  myself." x 

"  Prepare  ye  the  Way  of  the  Lord  ! " 

"  Buddha's  triumphant  entry  into  Rajagriha  (the 
"  City  of  the  King ")  has  been  compared  to  Christ's 
entry  into  Jerusalem.  Both,  probably,  never  occurred, 
and  only  symbolise  the  advent  of  a  Divine  Being  to 
earth.  It  is  recorded  in  the  Buddhist  scriptures  that 
on  these  occasions  a  "Precursor  of  Buddha"  always 
appears.2 

"Who  did  sin,  this  Man  or  his  Parents,  that 
he  was  born  Blind  ? "  (John  ix.  3) 

Professor  Kellogg,  in  his  work  entitled  The  Light 
of  Asia  and  the  Light  of  the  World,  condemns 
Buddhism  in  nearly  all  its  tenets.  But  he  is  especi- 
ally emphatic  in  the  matter  of  the  metempsychosis. 
The  poor  and  hopeless  Buddhist  has  to  begin  again 
and  again  "the  weary  round  of  birth  and  death," 
whilst  the  righteous  Christians  go  at  once  into  life 
eternal. 

Now,  it  seems  to  me  that  this  is  an  example  of  the 
danger  of  contrasting  two  historical  characters  when 
we  have  a  strong  sympathy  for  the  one  and  a  strong 
prejudice  against  the  other.  Professor  Kellogg  has 
conjured  up  a  Jesus  with  nineteenth  century  ideas, 
and  a  Buddha  who  is  made  responsible  for  all  the 
fancies  that  were  in  the  world  B.C.  500.      Professor 

1  Lalita  Vistara,  chap.  v.  2  Bigandet,  p.  147. 


MORE  COINCIDENCES  177 

Kellogg  is  a  professor  of  an  American  university,  and, 
as  such  must  know  that  the  doctrine  of  the  gilgal 
(the  Jewish  name  for  the  metempsychosis)  was  as 
universal  in  Palestine  A.D.  30,  as  it  was  in  Rajagriha 
B.C.  500.  An  able  writer  in  the  Church  Quarterly 
Review,  of  October  1885,  maintains  that  the  Jews 
brought  it  from  Babylon.  Dr.  Ginsburg,  in  his  work 
on  the  "  Kabbalah,"  shows  that  the  doctrine  continued 
to  be  held  by  Jews  as  late  as  the  ninth  century  of  our 
era.  He  shows,  too,  that  St.  Jerome  has  recorded 
that  it  was  "  propounded  amongst  the  early  Christians 
as  an  esoteric  and  traditional  doctrine." 

The  author  of  the  article  in  the  Church  Quarterly 
Review,  in  proof  of  its  existence,  adduces  the  question 
put  by  the  disciples  of  Christ  in  reference  to  the  man 
that  was  born  blind.  And  if  it  was  considered  that  a 
man  could  be  born  blind  as  a  punishment  for  sin,  that 
sin  must  have  been  plainly  committed  before  his  birth. 
Oddly  enough,  in  the  White  Lotus  of  Dharma  there 
is  an  account  of  the  healing  of  a  blind  man,  "  Because 
of  the  sinful  conduct  of  the  man  [in  a  former  birth] 
this  malady  has  risen." 

But  a  still  more  striking  instance  is  given  in  the 
case  of  the  man  sick  with  the  palsy  (Luke  v.  18). 
The  Jews  believed,  with  modern  Orientals,  that  grave 
diseases  like  paralysis  were  due,  not  to  physical  causes 
in  this  life,  but  to  moral  causes  in  previous  lives. 
And  if  the  account  of  the  cure  of  the  paralytic  is  to  be 
considered  historical,  it  is  quite  clear  that  this  was 
Christ's  idea  when  He  cured  the  man,  for  He  distinctly 
announced  that  the  cure  was  effected  not  by  any 
physical  processes,  but  by  annulling  the  "  sins  "  which 
were  the  cause  of  his  malady. 


178  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

Traces  of  the  metempsychosis  idea  still  exist  in 
Catholic  Christianity.  The  doctrine  of  original  sin  is 
said  by  some  writers  to  be  a  modification  of  it.  Cer- 
tainly the  fancy  that  the  works  of  supererogation  of 
their  saints  can  be  transferred  to  others  is  the  Buddhist 
idea  of  good  karma,  which  is  transferable  in  a  similar 
manner. 

"If  the  Blind  lead  the  Blind,  both  shall  fall 
into  the  Ditch  "  (Matt.  xv.  14) 
"  As  when  a  string  of  blind  men  are  clinging  one  to 
the  other,  neither  can  the  foremost  see,  nor  the  middle 
one  see,  nor  the  hindmost  see.  Just  so,  methinks,  Va- 
settha  is  the  talk  of  the  Brahmins  versed  in  the  Three 
Vedas." 1 

"Eunuchs  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven's  Sake" 

In  the  days  of  St.  Thomas  a  Kempis  the  worshipper 
was  modelled  on  the  Christ.  In  our  days  the  Christ 
seems  modelled  on  the  worshipper.  The  Bodleian  pro- 
fessor of  Sanskrit  writes  thus :  "  Christianity  teaches 
that  in  the  highest  form  of  life  love  is  intensified; 
Buddhism  teaches  that  in  the  highest  state  of  exist- 
ence all  love  is  extinguished.  According  to  Chris- 
tianity— Go  and  earn  your  own  bread,  and  support 
yourself  and  your  family.  Marriage,  it  says,  is 
honourable  and  undefiled,  and  married  life  a  field 
where  holiness  can  grow." 

But  history  is  history;   and   a   French  writer  has 
recently  attacked  Christ  for  attempting  to  bring  into 
Europe    the    celibacy   and    pessimism    of    Buddhism. 
1  Buddha,  in  the  Tevigga  Sutta,  i.  15. 


MORE  COINCIDENCES  179 

This  author  in  his  work,  Jesus  Bouddha,  cites  Luke 
xiv.  26 : 

"  If  any  man  come  to  Me,  and  hate  not  his  father,  and 
mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and  brethren,  and  sisters, 
yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple." 

He  adduces  also  : 

"  Let  the  dead  bury  their  dead. 

"Think  not  that  I  have  come  to  send  peace  on 
earth :  I  come  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword.  For  I 
am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against  his  father, 
and  the  daughter  against  her  mother,  and  the 
daughter-in-law  against  her  mother-in-law.  And  a 
man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own  household" 
(Matt.  x.  34-36). 

"  And  the  brother  shall  deliver  up  the  brother  to 
death,  and  the  father  the  child  ;  and  the  children  shall 
rise  up  against  their  parents,  and  cause  them  to  be 
put  to  death  "  (Ibid.  ver.  21). 

"  So  likewise,  whosoever  he  be  of  you  that  for- 
saketh  not  all  that  he  hath,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple  " 
(Luke  xiv.  33). 

The  author  says  that  all  this  is  pure  nihilism,  and 
Essene  communism.  "The  most  sacred  family  ties 
are  to  be  renounced,  and  man  to  lose  his  individuality 
and  become  a  unit  in  a  vast  scheme  to  overturn  the 
institutions  of  his  country." 

"  Qu'  importe  au  f anatisme  la  ruine  de  la  societe 
humaine." 

Here  also  is  a  remarkable  passage  from  an  American 
writer : 

"  The  anticosmic  tendency  of  the  Christian  doctrine," 
says  Mr.    Felix   Oswald,1  "distinguishes    it   from   all 

1  Secret  of  the  East,  p.  27. 


i8o  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

religions  except  Buddhism.  In  the  language  of  the 
New  Testament  the  '  world '  is  everywhere  a  synonym 
of  evil  and  sin,  the  flesh  everywhere  the  enemy  of  the 
spirit.  .  .  .  The  gospel  of  Buddha,  though  pernicious, 
is,  however,  a  perfectly  consistent  doctrine.  Birth, 
life,  and  re-birth  is  an  eternal  round  of  sorrow  and 
disappointment.  The  present  and  the  future  are  but 
the  upper  and  lower  tire  of  an  ever-rolling  wheel  of 
woe.  The  only  salvation  from  the  wheel  of  life  is  an 
escape  to  the  peace  of  Nirvana.  The  attempt  to 
graft  this  doctrine  upon  the  optimistic  theism  of 
Palestine  has  made  the  Christian  ethics  inconsistent 
and  contradictory.  A  paternal  Jehovah,  who  yet 
eternally  and  horribly  tortures  a  vast  plurality  of 
his  children.  An  earth  the  perfect  work  of  a 
benevolent  God,  yet  a  vale  of  tears  not  made  to  be 
enjoyed,  but  only  to  be  despised  and  renounced.  An 
omnipotent  heaven,  and  yet  unable  to  prevent  the 
intrigues  and  constant  victories  of  hell.  Christianity  is 
evidently  not  a  homogeneous  but  a  composite,  a  hybrid 
religion;  and  considered  in  connection  with  the  in- 
dications of  history,  and  the  evidence  of  the  above- 
named  ethical  and  traditional  analogies,  these  facts 
leave  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  founder  of  the 
Galilean  Church  was  a  disciple  of  Buddha  Sakya 
muni"  (p.  139). 

All  this  is  very  well  if  the  Buddhists  by  "salva- 
tion" meant  escape  from  life,  and  not  from  sin.  A 
'pessimist"  Buddhist  kingdom,  according  to  this, 
ought  to  present  the  universal  sad  faces  of  the 
"  Camelot "  of  a  modern  school  of  artists,  and  yet  the 
Burmese  are  pronounced  by  all  to  be  the  merriest  and 
happiest   of    God's   creatures.       We    know,   too,   that 


MORE  COINCIDENCES  181 

India  never  was  so  prosperous  as  in  the  days  of 
Buddhist  rule.  The  monks  carried  agriculture  to 
high  perfection;  and  Indian  fabrics  were  famous 
everywhere.  A  convent  meant  less  a  career  than  an 
education  in  spiritual  knowledge.  Like  the  Essene, 
the  Buddhist  monk  was  not  forced  to  remain  for  life. 
Catholicism  introduced  that  change. 

"Then  all  His  Disciples  forsook  Him  and  fled" 

It  is  recorded  that  on  one  occasion  when  a  "  must " 
elephant  charged  furiously,  "  all  the  disciples  deserted 
Buddha.     Ananda  alone  remained." * 

"If  thy  right  Eye  offend  thee." 

Mr.  Felix  Oswald2  announces,  without,  however, 
giving  a  more  detailed  reference,  that  according  to  Max 
Mailer's  translation  of  the  "  Ocean  of  Worlds,"  a  young 
monk  meets  a  rich  woman  who  pities  his  hard  lot. 

"  Blessed  is  the  woman  who  looks  into  thy  lovely 
eyes ! " 

"  Lovely  ! "  replied  the  monk.  "  Look  here  ! "  And 
plucking  out  one  of  his  eyes  he  held  it  up,  bleeding 
and  ghastly,  and  asked  her  to  correct  her  opinion. 

Walking  on  the  Water 

Certain  villagers,  hard  of  belief,  were  listening  to 
Buddha  on  the  shore  of  a  mighty  river.  Suddenly 
by  a  miracle  the  great  teacher  caused  a  man  to  appear 
walking  on  the  water  from  the  other  side,  without, 
immersing  his  feet.3 

1  Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king,  iv.  21.  2  The  Secret  of  the  Fad,  p.  134. 

3  Chinese  Dhammapada,  p.  51. 


182  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 


"And,  lo!  there  was  a  great  Calm" 

Purna,  one  of  Buddha's  disciples,  had  a  brother  in 
danger  of  shipwreck  in  a  "black  storm."  But  the 
guardian  spirits  of  Purna  informed  him  of  this.  He 
at  once  transported  himself  through  the  air  from  the 
distant  inland  town  to  the  deck  of  the  ship.  "Im- 
mediately the  black  tempest  ceased  as  if  Sumeru  had 
arrested  it."  x 


"  Why  eateth  your  Master  with  Publicans  and 
Sinners  ? "  (Matt.  ix.  10) 

The  courtesan  Amrapali  invited  Buddha  and  his 
disciples  to  a  banquet  in  the  mango  grove  at  Vaisali. 
Buddha  accepted.  Some  rich  princes,  sparkling  in 
emeralds,  came  and  gave  him  a  similar  invitation. 
He  refused.  They  were  very  angry  to  see  him  sit  at 
meat  with  Amrapali.  He  explained  to  his  disciples 
that  the  harlot  might  enter  the  kingdom  of  Dharma 
more  easily  than  the  prince.2 

The  penitent  Thief 

Buddha  confronts  a  terrible  bandit  in  his  mountain 
retreat  and  converts  him.3 

"There  was  War  in  Heaven" 

Professor  Beal,  in  his  Catena  of  Buddhist  Scrip- 
tures (p.   52),  tells  us  that,  in  the  Saddharma  Prd- 

1  Burnouf,  Introd.  p.  229.  2  Bigandet,  p.  251. 

3  Chinese  Dhammapada,  p.  98. 


MORE  COINCIDENCES  183 

hasa  Sasana  Sutra,  a  great  war  in  heaven  is  described. 
In  it  the  "wicked  dragons"  assault  the  legions  of 
heaven.  After  a  terrific  conflict  they  are  driven 
down  by  Indra  and  the  heavenly  hosts. 

"The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  unto  a  Mer- 
chantman SEEKING  GOODLY  PEARLS,  WHO,  WHEN 
HE  HAD  FOUND  ONE  PEARL  OF  GREAT  PRICE, 
WENT  AND    SOLD   ALL   THAT   HE    HAD    AND    BOUGHT 

it  "(Matt.  xiii.  45) 

The  most  sacred  emblem  of  Buddhism  is  called  the 
mani  (pearl),  and  in  the  Chinese  biography  a  mer- 
chant-man seeking  goodly  pearls  finds  it,  and  unfor- 
tunately drops  it  into  the  sea.  Rather  than  lose  it  he 
tries  to  drain  the  sea  dry.1 

The  Voice  from  the  Sky 
This  sounds  often  in  the  Buddhist  narratives.2 

Faith 

"  Faith  is  the  first  gate  of  the  Law."  3 

"  All  who  have  faith  in  me  obtain  a  mighty  joy."  4 

"Thou  art  not  yet  Fifty  Years  old,  and  hast 
thou  seen  Abraham?" 

In  the  White  Lotus  of  Dharma  (chap,  xiv.)  Buddha 
is  asked  how  it  is  that,  having  sat  under  the  bo-tree 
only  forty  years  ago,  he  has  been  able,  according  to 

1  Rem.  Hist.  p.  228.  2  See  Beal,  Rom  Hist.  p.  105. 

3  Lalita  Vistara,  p.  39.  4  Ibid.  p.  188. 


1 84  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

his  boast,  to  see  many  Buddhas  and  saints  who  died 
hundreds  of  years  previously.  He  answers  that  he 
has  lived  many  hundred  thousand  myriads  of  Kotis, 
and  that  though  in  the  form  of  a  Buddha,  he  is  in 
reality  Swayambhu,  the  Self-Existent,  the  Father  of 
the  million  worlds.  In  proof  of  this  statement  he 
causes  two  Buddhas  of  the  Past,  Prabhutaratna  and 
Gadgadesvara,  to  appear  in  the  sky.  The  first  pro- 
nounces loudly  these  words :  "  It  is  well !  It  is 
well ! "  These  Buddhas  appear  with  their  sepulchral 
canopies  (stupas)  of  diamonds,  red  pearls,  emeralds, 
etc.  Peter,  at  the  scene  of  the  Transfiguration,  said 
to  Christ : 

"  Let  us  make  here  three  tabernacles — one  for  Thee, 
one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elias."  Why  should  Peter 
want  to  adopt  a  Buddhist  custom  and  build  tabernacles 
for  the  dead  Moses  and  the  dead  Elias  ?  Why,  also, 
should  Moses  come  from  the  tomb  to  support  a  teacher 
who  had  torn  his  covenant  with  Yahve  to  shreds  ? 

"  He  was  transfigured  before  them  " 

Buddha,  leaving  Maudgalyayana  and  another  dis- 
ciple to  represent  him,  went  off  through  the  air  to 
the  Devaloca,  to  the  Heaven  Tusita,  to  preach  to  the 
spirits  in  prison  and  to  convert  his  mother.  When 
he  came  down  from  the  mountain  (Mienmo),  a  stair- 
case of  glittering  diamonds,  seen  by  all,  helped  his 
descent.  His  appearance  was  blinding.  The  "  six 
glories  "  glittered  on  his  person.  Mortals  and  spirits 
hymned  the  benign  Being  who  emptied  the  hells.1 

In  the  Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews  is  a  curious 

1  Bigandet,  p.  209. 


MORE  COINCIDENCES  185 

passage,  which  Baur  and  Hilgenfeld  hold  to  be  the 
earliest  version  of  the  Transfiguration  narrative. 

"  Just  now  my  mother,  the  Holy  Spirit,  took  me  by 
one  of  my  hairs  and  bore  me  up  on  to  the  great 
mountain  of  Tabor." 

This  is  curious.  Buddha  and  Jesus  reach  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration,  each  through  the  influence 
of  his  mother.  But  perhaps  the  Jewish  writer  did 
not  like  the  universalism  inculcated  in  the  Buddhist 
narrative. 

"  He  began  to  wash  the  Disciples'  Feet  " 
(John  xiii.  5) 

In  a  vilmra  at  Gandhara  was  a  monk  so  loath- 
some and  stinking,  on  account  of  his  maladies,  that 
none  of  his  brother  disciples  dare  go  near  him.  The 
great  Teacher  came  and  tended  him  lovingly  and 
washed  his  feet.1 

The  great  Banquet  of  Buddha 

In  the  Lalita  Vistara  (p.  51)  it  is  stated  that  those 
who  have  faith  will  become  "sons  of  Buddha,"  and 
partake  of  the  "  food  of  the  kingdom."  Four  things 
draw  disciples  to  his  banquet — gifts,  soft  words,  pro- 
duction of  benefits,  conformity  of  benefits. 

Baptism 

In  a  Chinese  life  of  Buddha  by  Wung  Puh,2  it  is 
announced  that  Buddha  at  Vaisali  delivered  a  Sutra 

1  Chinese  Dhammapada,  p.  94. 

2  See  Beal,  Journ.  As.  Soc.  vol.  xx.  p.  172. 


1 86  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

entitled,   "  The    Baptism  that  Rescues  from  Life  and 
Death  and  Confers  Salvation." 


"And  none  of  them  is  lost  but  the  Son  of 
Perdition  " 

Buddha  had  also  a  treacherous  disciple,  Devadatta. 
He  schemed  with  a  wicked  prince,  who  sent  men 
armed  with  bows  and  swords  to  slaughter  Buddha. 
Devadatta  tried  other  infamous  stratagems.  His  end 
was  appalling.  Coming  in  a  palanquin  to  arrest 
Buddha,  he  got  out  to  stretch  himself.  Suddenly 
tierce  flames  burst  out,  and  he  was  carried  down  to 
the  hell  Avichi  (the  Rayless  Place).  There,  in  a  red- 
hot  cauldron,  impaled  by  one  red  bar  and  pierced  by  two 
others,  he  will  stay  for  a  whole  Kalpa.  Then  he  will  be 
forgiven.1 

The  Last  Supper 

Buddha  had  his  last  supper  or  repast  with  his 
disciples.  A  treacherous  disciple  changed  his  alms- 
bowl,  and  apparently  he  was  poisoned.2  Fierce  pains 
seized  him  as  he  journeyed  afterwards.  He  was 
forced  to  rest.  He  sent  a  message  to  his  host,  Kunda, 
the  son  of  the  jeweller,  to  feel  no  remorse  although 
the  feast  had  been  his  death.  Under  two  trees  he  now 
died. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  during  the  last  supper 
of  Jesus  a  treacherous  disciple  "  dipped  into  his  dish," 
but  as  Jesus  was  not  poisoned,  the  event  had  no 
sequence. 

1  Bigandet,  p.  244.  2  See  Rockhill's  Buddha,  p.  133. 


MORE  COINCIDENCES  187 

"NOW   FROM   THE   SlXTH   HOUR   THERE   WAS  DARKNESS 
OVER  ALL  THE    LAND   UNTIL   THE   NlNTH  HOUR  " 

The  critical  school  base  much  of  their  contention 
that  the  Gospels  do  not  record  real  history  on  this 
particular  passage.  They  urge  that  such  an  astound- 
ing event  could  not  have  escaped  Josephus  and 
Tacitus.  When  Buddha  died,  the  "  sun  and  moon 
withdrew  their  shining,"  and  dust  and  ashes  fell  like 
rain.  "  The  great  earth  quaked  throughout.  The 
crash  of  the  thunder  shook  the  heavens  and  the  earth, 
rolling  along  the  mountains  and  valleys." 1  The 
Buddhist  account  is  certainly  not  impossible,  for  the 
chronicler  takes  advantage  of  the  phenomena  of  an 
Indian  dust-storm  to  produce  his  dark  picture.  At 
Lucknow,  before  the  siege,  I  remember  a  storm  so 
dense  at  midday  that  some  ladies  with  my  regiment 
thought  the  Day  of  Judgment  had  arrived. 

"  And  many  Bodies  of  the  Saints  which 
slept  arose  " 

When  Buddha  died  at  Ku^inagara,  Ananda  and 
another  disciple  saw  many  denizens  of  the  unseen 
world  in  the  city,  by  the  river  Yigdan.2 

"To  anoint  My  Body  to  the  Burying" 
(Mark  xiv.  8) 

The  newly  discovered  fragments  of  the  Gospel  of 
Peter  give  us  a  curious  fact.     They  record  that  Mary 

1  Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king,  v.  26. 

2  Rockhill's  Life  of  the  Buddha,  p.  133. 


188  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

Magdalene,  "  taking  with  her  her  friends,"  went  to  the 
sepulchre  of  Jesus  to  "  place  themselves  beside  him 
and  perform  the  rites"  of  wailing,  beating  breasts, 
etc.  Amrapali  and  other  courtesans  did  the  same 
rites  to  Buddha,  and  the  disciples  were  afterwards 
indignant  that  impure  women  should  have  "  washed 
his  dead  body  with  their  tears."1 

In  the  Christian  records  are  three  passages,  all 
due,  I  think,  to  the  Buddhist  narrative.  In  one,  "a 
woman "  anoints  Jesus ;  in  John  (xii.  7),  "  Mary " 
anoints  him ;  in  Luke,  a  "  sinner,"  who  kisses  and 
washes  his  feet  with  her  hair.  Plainly  these  last 
passages  are  quite  irrational.  No  woman  could  have 
performed  the  washing  and  other  burial  rites  on  a  man 
alive  and  in  health. 


"They  parted  My  Garments" 

The  Abbe  Hue  tells  us2  that  on  the  death  of  the 
Bokte  Lama  his  garments  are  cut  into  little  stripes 
and  prized  immensely. 

"He  appeared  unto  Many" 

Buddha  prophesied  that  he  would  appear  after  his 
death.3  In  a  Chinese  version  quoted  by  Eitel,4  Buddha, 
to  soothe  his  mother,  who  had  come  down  weeping 
from  the  skies,  opens  his  coffin  lid  and  appears  to  her. 
In  the  temple  sculptures  he  is  constantly  depicted 
coming  down  to  the  altar  during  worship.5 

1  Rockhill,  Thibetan  Life,  p.  153.  2  Voyages,  ii.  p.  278. 

3  Lotus,  p.  144.  4  Three  Lectures,  p.  57. 

6  See  illustrations  to  my  Buddhism  in  Christendom. 


MORE  COINCIDENCES  189 

The  "Great  White  Throne" 

Mr.  Upham,  in  his  History  of  Buddhism  (pp.  56,  57), 
gives  a  description  of  the  Buddhist  heaven.  There 
is  a  "  high  mountain,"  and  a  city  "  four  square  "  with 
gates  of  gold  and  silver,  adorned  with  precious  stones. 
Seven  moats  surround  the  city.  Beyond  the  last 
one  is  a  row  of  marble  pillars  studded  with  jewels. 
The  great  throne  of  the  god  stands  in  the  centre  of  a 
great  hall,  and  is  surmounted  by  a  white  canopy. 
Round  the  great  throne  are  seated  heavenly  ministers, 
who  record  men's  actions  in  a  "golden  book."  A 
mighty  tree  is  conspicuous  in  the  garden.  In  the 
Chinese  heaven  is  the  "  Gem  Lake,"  by  which  stands 
the  peach-tree  whose  fruit  gives  immortality. 

The  Atonement 

The  idea  of  transferred  good  Karma,  the  merits  of 
the  former  lives  of  an  individual  being  passed  on  to 
another  individual,  is,  of  course,  quite  foreign  to  the 
lower  Judaism,  which  believed  in  no  after  life  at  all. 
In  the  view  of  the  higher  Buddhism,  Sakya  Muni 
saved  the  world  by  his  teaching ;  but  to  the  lower,  the 
Buddhism  of  offerings  and  temples  and  monks,  this 
doctrine  of  Karma  was  the  life-blood.  It  was  pro- 
claimed that  Buddha  had  a  vast  stock  of  superfluous 
Karma,  and  that  offerings  at  a  temple  might  cause 
the  worshipper  in  his  next  life  to  be  a  prince  instead 
of  a  pig  or  a  coolie.  In  the  Lalita  Vistara1  it  is 
announced  that  when  Buddha  overcame  Mara,  all  flesh 
rejoiced,  the  blind  saw,  the  deaf  heard,  the  dumb 
1  Chinese  version,  p.  225. 


i9o  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

spake,  the  hells  were  cleared,  and  all  by  reason  of 
Buddha's  Karma  in  previous  lives. 

St.  Paul  is  very  contradictory  about  the  atonement. 
This  passage  seems  pure  Buddhism  : 

"  As  by  the  offence  of  one  judgment  came  upon  all 
men  to  condemnation,  even  so  by  the  righteousness  of 
one  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification 
of  life  "(Rom.  v.  18). 

Contrast  this  with  another  passage  : 

"  Whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation, 
through  faith  in  His  blood,  to  declare  His  righteous- 
ness for  the  remission  of  sins  "  (Rom.  iii.  25). 


CHAPTER    XI 

RITES 

I  HAVE  left  myself  little  space  to  write  of  the  many 
points  of  close  similarity  between  the  Buddhists  and 
the  Roman  Catholics. 

The  French  missionary  Hue,  in  his  celebrated  travels 
in  Thibet,  was  much  struck  with  this  similarity. 

"  The  crozier,  the  mitre,  the  dalmatic,  the  cope  or 
'pluvial,  which  the  grand  lamas  wear  on  a  journey,  or 
when  they  perform  some  ceremony  outside  the  temple, 
the  service  with  a  double  choir,  psalmody,  exorcisms, 
the  censer  swinging  on  five  chains  and  contrived  to 
be  opened  and  shut  at  will,  benediction  by  the  lamas, 
with  the  right  hand  extended  over  the  heads  of  the 
faithful,  the  chaplet,  sacerdotal  celibacy,  Lenten  re- 
tirements from  the  world,  the  worship  of  saints,  fasts, 
processions,  litanies,  holy  water — these  are  the  points 
of  contact  between  the  Buddhists  and  ourselves." 

Listen  also  to  Father  Disderi,  who  visited  Thibet  in 
the  year  1714.  "  The  lamas  have  a  tonsure  like  our 
priests,  and  are  bound  over  to  perpetual  celibacy. 
They  study  their  scriptures  in  a  language  and  in 
characters  that  differ  from  the  ordinary  characters. 
They  recite  prayers  in  choir.  They  serve  the  temple, 
present  the  offerings,  and  keep  the  lamps  perpetually 
alio-ht.     They  offer  to  God  corn  and  barley  and  paste 

191 


i92  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

and  water  in  little  vases,  which  are  extremely  clean. 
Food  thus  offered  is  considered  consecrated,  and  they 
eat  it.  The  lamas  have  local  superiors,  and  a  superior 
general."  x 

Father  Grueber,  with  another  priest,  named  Dor- 
ville,  passed  from  Pekin  through  Thibet  to  Patna  in 
the  year  1661.  Henry  Prinsep2  thus  sums  up  what 
he  has  recorded : 

"  Father  Grueber  was  much  struck  with  the  extra- 
ordinary similarity  he  found,  as  well  in  the  doctrine 
as  in  the  rituals  of  the  Buddhists  of  Lha  Sa,  to  those 
of  his  own  Romish  faith.  He  noticed,  first,  that  the 
dress  of  the  lamas  corresponded  to  that  handed 
down  to  us  in  ancient  paintings  as  the  dress  of 
the  Apostles.  Second,  that  the  discipline  of  the 
monasteries  and  of  the  different  orders  of  lamas  or 
priests  bore  the  same  resemblance  to  that  of  the 
Romish  Church.  Third,  that  the  notion  of  an  In- 
carnation was  common  to  both,  so  also  the  belief  in 
paradise  and  purgatory.  Fourth,  he  remarked  that 
they  made  suffrages,  alms,  prayers,  and  sacrifices  for 
the  dead,  like  the  Roman  Catholics.  Fifth,  that  they 
had  convents  filled  with  monks  and  friars  to  the 
number  of  thirty  thousand,  near  Lha  Sa,  who  all 
made  the  three  vows  of  poverty,  obedience,  and 
chastity,  like  Roman  monks,  besides  other  vows. 
Sixth,  that  they  had  confessors  licensed  by  the 
superior  lamas  or  bishops,  and  so  empowered  to 
receive  confessions,  impose  penances,  and  give  absolu- 
tion. Besides  all  this  there  was  found  the  practice  of 
using  holy  water,  of  singing  service  in  alternation,  of 

1  Lettrcs  Aiifiantes,  vol.  iii.  p.  534. 

2  Thibet  Tartary,  etc.  p.  14. 


RITES  193 

praying  for  the  dead,  and  of  perfect  similarity  in  the 
customs  of  the  great  and  superior  lamas  to  those  of 
the  different  orders  of  the  Romish  hierarchy.  These 
early  missionaries  further  were  led  to  conclude,  from 
what  they  saw  and  heard,  that  the  ancient  books  of 
the  lamas  contained  traces  of  the  Christian  religion, 
which  must,  they  thought,  have  been  preached  in 
Thibet  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles." 

In  the  year  1829  Victor  Jacquemont,  the  French 
botanist,  made  a  short  excursion  from  Simla  into 
Thibet.  He  writes :  "  The  Grand  Lama  of  Kanum  has 
the  episcopal  mitre  and  crozier.  He  is  dressed  just 
like  our  bishops.  A  superficial  observer  at  a  little 
distance  would  take  his  Thibetan  and  Buddhist  mass 
for  a  Roman  mass  of  the  first  water.  He  makes 
twenty  genuflexions  at  the  right  intervals,  turns  to 
the  altar  and  then  to  the  congregation,  rings  a  bell, 
drinks  in  a  chalice  water  poured  out  by  an  acolyte, 
intones  paternosters  quite  of  the  right  sing-song — the 
resemblance  is  really  shocking.  But  men  whose  faith 
is  properly  robust  will  see  here  nothing  but  a  corrup- 
tion of  Christianity."  x 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  what  is  called 
Southern  Buddhism  has  the  same  rites.  St.  Francis 
Xavier  in  Japan  found  Southern  Buddhism  so  like 
his  own  that  he  donned  the  yellow  sanglidti,  and 
called  himself  an  apostle  of  Buddha,  quieting  his 
conscience  by  furtively  mumbling  a  little  Latin  of 
the  baptismal  service  over  some  of  his  "  converts." 

This  is  what  the  Rev.  S.  Beal,  a  chaplain  in 
the  navy,  wrote  of  a  liturgy  that  he  found  in 
China  : 

1  Corr.  vol.  i.  p.  265. 
13 


194  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

"  The  form  of  this  office  is  a  very  curious  one.  It 
bears  a  singular  likeness  in  its  outline  to  the  common 
type  of  the  Eastern  Christian  liturgies.  That  is  to 
say,  there  is  a  '  Proanaphoral '  and  an  '  Anaphoral ' 
portion.  There  is  a  prayer  of  entrance  (rrjg  ziaohov),  a 
prayer  of  incense  (rov  dut/jiccf/jocrog),  an  ascription  of 
praise  to  the  threefold  object  of  worship  (rpiffocyiov),  a 
prayer  of  oblation  (rr,c  irqoo  Qsffsoog),  the  lections,  the 
recitations  of  the  Dharani  (fJbVGT'/jpiov),  the  Embolismus, 
or  prayer  against  temptation,  followed  by  a  '  Confes- 
sion '  and  a  '  Dismissal.'  "  1 

Turning  to  architecture,  I  must  point  out  that  Mr. 
Ferguson,  the  leading  authority  in  ancient  art,  was  of 
opinion  that  the  various  details  of  the  early  Christian 
basilica — nave,  aisle,  columns,  semi-domed  apse,  cruci- 
form ground  plan — were  borrowed  en  bloc  from  the 
Buddhists.  Mr.  Ferguson  lays  special  stress  on  the 
Dagoba  and  its  enshrined  relics,  represented  in  the 
Christian  Church  by  the  high  altar,  the  bones  of  a 
saint,  the  baldechino.  Relic-worship,  he  says,  was 
certainly  borrowed  from  the  East.  Of  the  rock-cut 
temple  of  Karle  (B.C.  78)  he  writes : 

"  The  building  resembles,  to  a  great  extent,  an  early 
Christian  Church  in  its  arrangements,  consisting  of  a 
nave  and  side  aisles  terminating  in  an  apse  or  semi- 
dome,  round  which  the  aisle  is  carried.  ...  As  a  scale 
for  comparison,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  its  arrange- 
ments and  dimensions  are  very  similar  to  those  of  the 
choir  of  Norwich  Cathedral,  and  of  the  Abbaye  aux 
Hommes  at  Caen,  omitting  the  outer  aisles  in  the 
latter  buildings. 

"  Immediately  under  the  semi-dome  of  the  apse,  and 
1  Catena  of  Buddhist  Scriptures,  p.  397. 


RITES  195 

nearly  where  the  altar  stands  in  Christian  Churches,  is 
placed  the  Dagoba.1 " 

The  list  of  resemblances  is  by  no  means  exhausted. 
The  monks  on  entering  a  temple  make  the  gesture  that 
we  call  the  sign  of  the  cross.  The  Buddhists  have 
illuminated  missals,  Gregorian  chants,  a  tabernacle  on 
the  altar  for  oblations,  a  pope,  cardinals,  angels  with 
wings,  saints  with  the  nimbus.  For  a  full  account  I 
must  refer  the  reader  to  my  Buddhism  in  Chris- 
tendom, where  I  give  (pp.  182,  184)  drawings  of 
monks  and  nuns,  the  Virgin  and  Child  (p.  205),  the 
adoration  of  the  rice  cake  on  the  altar  (p.  83),  Buddha 
coming  down  to  the  altar  with  the  heavenly  host 
(p.  210),  the  long  candles,  artificial  flowers,  cross, 
incense  burner,  and  divine  figure  with  the  aureole,  of 
the  Buddhist  temple  (p.  208).  The  election  of  the 
Grand  Lama  I  show  to  be  pin  for  pin  like  the  election 
of  the  Pope.     The  list  is  endless. 

How  is  all  this  to  be  accounted  for?  Several 
theories  have  been  started  : 

The  first  attempts  to  make  light  of  the  matter 
altogether.  All  religions,  it  says,  have  sacrifice,  incense, 
priests,  the  idea  of  faith,  etc.  This  may  be  called  the 
orthodox  Protestant  theory,  and  many  bulky  books 
have  recently  appeared  propounding  it.  But  as  these 
books  avoid  all  the  strong  points  of  the  case,  they 
cannot  be  called  at  all  satisfactory  to  the  bewildered 
inquirer. 

To  this  theory  the  Roman  Catholics  reply  that  the 
similarities  between  Buddhism  and  Catholicism  are  so 
microscopic  and  so  complete,  that  one  religion  must 
have  borrowed  from  the  other.     In  consequence  they 

1  Indian  and  Eastern  Architecture,  p.  117. 


196  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

try  to  prove  that  the  rites  of  Buddhism  and  the  life  of 
its  founder  were  derived  from  Christianity,  from  the 
Nestorians,  from  St.  Thomas,  from  St.  Hyacinth  of 
Poland,  from  St.  Oderic  of  Frioul.1 

In  the  way  of  this  theory,  however,  there  are  also 
insuperable  difficulties.  Buddha  died  470  years  before 
Christ,  and  for  many  years  the  Christian  Church  had 
no  basilicas,  popes,  cardinals,  basilica  worship,  nor 
even  for  a  long  time  a  definite  life  of  the  founder.  At 
the  date  of  Asoka  (b.c.  260)  there  was  a  metrical  life  of 
Buddha  (Muni  Gatha),  and  the  incidents  of  this  life 
are  found  sculptured  in  marble  on  the  gateways  of 
Buddhist  temples  that  precede  the  Christian  epoch. 
This  is  the  testimony  of  Sir  Alexander  Cunningham, 
the  greatest  of  Indian  archaeologists.  He  fixes  the 
date  of  the  Bharhut  Stupa  at  from  270  to  250  B.C. 
There  he  finds  Queen  Maya  s  dream  of  the  elephant, 
the  Rishis  at  the  ploughing  match,  the  transfiguration 
of  Buddha  and  the  ladder  of  diamonds,  and  other 
incidents.  At  the  Sanchi  tope,  an  earlier  structure 
(although  the  present  marble  gateways,  repeated 
probably  from  wood,  are  fixed  at  about  A.D  19),  he 
announces  representations  of  Buddha  as  an  elephant 
coming;  down  to  his  mother's  womb,  three  out  of  the 
"  Four  Presaging  Tokens,"  Buddha  bending  the  bow  of 
Sinhahanu,  King  Bimbisara  visiting  the  young  prince, 
and  other  incidents. 

A  man  who  invents,  let  us  say,  a  submarine  boat,  at 
once  puts  his  idea  to  a  practical  test.  Let  us  try  and 
construct  a  working  model  here.  Suppose  that  the 
present  ruler  of  Afghanistan  were  paying  us  a  visit, 
and,  introduced  at  Fulham  Palace,  he  were  to  suggest 
1  See  Abbe-  Prouveze,  Life  of  Gabriel  Durancl,  vol.  ii.  p.  365. 


RITES  197 

that  the  life  of  Mahomet  should  supersede  that  of 
Jesus  in  our  Bible,  and  Mussulman  rites  replace  the 
Christian  ritual  in  the  diocese  of  London.  What 
would  be  the  answer  ?  The  bishop,  anxious  to  deal 
gently  with  a  valuable  ally,  would  point  out  that  he 
was  only  a  cogwheel  in  a  vast  machinery,  a  cogwheel 
that  could  be  promptly  replaced  if  it  proved  the  least 
out  of  gear.  He  would  show  that  the  Anglican  Church 
had  a  mass  of  very  definite  rules  called  canon  law, 
with  courts  empowered  to  punish  the  slightest  in- 
fringement of  these  rules.  He  would  show  that  even 
an  archbishop  could  not  alter  a  tittle  of  the  gospel 
narrative.  Every  man,  woman,  and  child  would  im- 
mediately detect  the  change. 

Similar  difficulties  would  be  in  the  way  of  St. 
Hyacinth  of  Poland  in,  say,  a  monastery  of  Ceylon. 
The  abbot  there  would  be  responsible  to  what  Bishop 
Bigandet  calls  his  "  provincial,"  and  he  again  to  his 
"  superieur  general "  (p.  478),  and  so  on  to  the  Acharya, 
the  "  High  Priest  of  all  the  World,"  who,  in  his  palace 
at  Nalanda,  near  Buddha  Gaya,  was  wont  to  sit  in  state, 
surrounded  by  ten  thousand  monks.  Buddhism,  by  the 
time  that  a  Christian  missionary  could  have  reached  it, 
was  a  far  more  diffused  and  conservative  religion  than 
Anglicanism.  It  had  a  canon  law  quite  as  definite. 
It  had  hundreds  of  volumes  treating  of  the  minutest 
acts  of  Sakya  Muni. 


CHAPTER    XII 

BUDDHA   IN   NORWAY  AND   AMERICA 

Norway 

One  portion  of  Her  Majesty's  subjects  calls  the  fourth 
day  of  the  week  the  "  Day  of  Woden,"  and  a  still  larger 
portion  calls  it  the  "  Day  of  Buddha."  Is  there  any  con- 
nection between  Woden  and  Buddha  ?  Professor  Max 
Miiller  ridicules  the  idea ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  great 
archaeologist,  Professor  Holmboe,  takes  up  the  opposite 
view.  In  the  first  place,  the  earliest  traditions  of  the 
Norsemen  and  their  earliest  historians  assert  that  they 
came  from  beyond  the  Tanaqvisl  (Don  or  Tanais),  from 
Asaland,  from  the  city  of  Asgard ;  and  these  Asas  are 
identified  by  the  professor  as  the  Asioi  or  Asiani  of 
Strabo  and  other  classical  writers,  certain  invaders  of 
Bactria  from  beyond  the  Jaxartes.  These  Asas  arrived 
in  Norway,  and  they  have  left  behind  them  an  abund- 
ance of  monuments  which  prove  that  their  rites,  and 
temples,  and  symbols  are  precisely  the  same  as  those 
of  the  Buddhists.  The  haug  is  a  servile  copy  of  the 
tope  ;  and  its  concomitants,  the  stambha  or  solitary 
tower,  the  circles  of  upright  stones,  the  tank  or  lake 
for  baptismal  purposes,  and  the  sacred  trees,  are  every- 
where found.  Inside  these  haugs  are  discovered  copies 
of  the  coins  of  Bactrian  kings  of  the  first  century  A.D., 

198 


BUDDHA  IN  NORWAY  AND  AMERICA    199 

and  also  many  Buddhist  symbols — the  Swastica,  the 
Nandavarta,  and  the  professor  might  have  added,  as  I 
shall  show,  the  Triratna.  To  make  his  case  more  com- 
plete, the  professor  points  to  a  line  of  these  haugs  and 
circles  stretching  across  Europe,  which  indicates  the 
pathway  of  these  migrating  Asas ;  and  the  w  and  b  in 
Sanskrit  being  identical  letters,  the  word  Woden,  he 
points  out,  could  have  easily  been  manufactured  out  of 
Bodhi,  Budh,  etc. 

A  rough  heap  or  cairn  of  stones  was  the  primitive 
idea  of  the  tope.  In  the  tope  par  excellence  the  hemi- 
sphei*ical  shape  was  adopted  as  the  most  complete  repre- 
sentation of  the  heaven  of  the  Buddhists.  The  tope  at 
Sanchi,  near  Bhilsa,  in  Bhopal,  is  a  simple  hemisphere, 
and  was  erected  about  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century 
B.C.,  according  to  General  Cunningham.  The  next  oldest 
topes  are  the  smaller  Bhilsa  topes.  In  these  the  hemi- 
sphere is  raised  up  a  few  feet  by  the  addition  of  a  cylin- 
drical portion.  In  the  Afghan  topes,  which  were  erected 
about  the  Christian  era,  the  hemisphere  is  still  farther 
elevated.  In  a  fourth  class  of  tope,  of  which  the  Sar- 
nath  tope  at  Benares  is  a  fine  specimen,  the  cylindrical 
portion  is  as  high  as  the  diameter  of  the  tope. 

In  India  the  origin  of  the  tope  is  attributed  to 
Buddha ;  in  Norway  the  haug  is  attributed  to  Woden. 
Snorro  Sturlasen,  in  his  History  of  the  Ancient  Kings 
of  Norway,  thus  writes :  "  Woden  gave  to  the  kingdom 
the  law  which  governs  the  Asas.  He  ordered  that  all 
the  dead  should  be  burned,  and  their  property  should 
be  carried  with  them  to  the  pyre.  In  this  way  each 
would  reach  Walhalla  with  his  riches  ;  he  would  enjoy 
also  all  that  he  had  hid  in  the  earth.  The  ashes  were 
to  be  thrown  in  the  sea  or  buried." 


200  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

Let  us  now  compare  the  haug  and  the  tope. 

"  The  tumuli  of  Europe,"  says  the  professor,  "  com- 
posed of  stones,  sand,  and  earth,  have  received  the  most 
natural  shape  for  a  heap,  that  of  a  truncated  cone 
rounded  at  the  top.  The  topes  of  Asia  developed 
gradually  from  the  earliest  cuneiform  stupa  or  heap, 
which  was  replaced,  to  get  the  inner  cell  more  solid, 
by  a  quadrangular  wall  surmounted  by  a  cone.  Then 
this  construction  was  raised  aloft  from  its  base  by  a 
cylinder.  The  haugs  of  Norway  and  the  topes  of  Asia 
seem  to  have  had  originally  the  same  form,  and  the 
sole  difference  between  these  ancient  monuments  is 
the  more  developed  form  of  the  topes,  which  have, 
however,  always  retained  the  conic  cupola,  striking  a 
mean  between  the  cone  and  the  hemisphere.  In  Nor- 
way and  Tibet  square  monuments  of  the  same  descrip- 
tion are  found,  although  these  are  exceptional.  "  Also, 
in  Norway  we  find  tumuli  with  a  little  tumulus  at  the 
summit  of  each,  as  if  to  imitate  the  topes  with  their 
basement,  which  in  Afghanistan  is  more  often  a  heap 
of  stones  thrown  together  without  order.  In  Jutland 
and  at  Bornholm  are  tumuli  of  this  construction." 

Another  point  of  resemblance  traced  by  the  professor 
is  the  immense  masses  of  materials  heaped  up  to  produce 
an  imposing  effect.  The  Valders  haug  at  Valderoe,  an 
island  belonging  to  Norway,  is  four  hundred  feet  in 
circumference,  and  must  have  been  once  about  thirty 
feet  high.  Another  haug,  the  Ous  Haug,  is  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  in  circumference ;  a  haug  at  Yttre 
Holmedel  is  four  hundred  feet  in  circumference.  Turn- 
ing to  the  topes,  we  find  that  the  Amaravati  is  five 
hundred  feet  in  circumference,  and  now  about  sixteen 
feet  high.      This  is  about  the  height  of  most  of  the 


BUDDHA  IN  NORWAY  AND  AMERICA    201 

Norwegian  haugs.  The  Bhilsa  tope  is  five  hundred  and 
fifty-four  feet  in  circumference.  The  Manikyala  tope, 
between  Attock  and  Lahore,  is  three  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  in  circumference.  The  haugs  are  con- 
structed without  the  use  of  cement ;  with  this  exception, 
says  the  professor,  a  "more  faithful  imitation  of  the 
Eastern  construction  was  quite  impossible." 

When  we  examine  the  interior  of  the  monuments, 
the  similarity  continues.  Topes  are  usually  built  up  by 
the  aid  of  more  than  one  cupola.  A  small  cupola  is 
constructed,  and  then  a  larger  one  outside  that,  the 
intervening  space  being  filled  up  with  rough  stones. 
Within  the  smaller  cupola  are  sometimes  found  smaller 
cupolas  of  metal  (gold,  silver,  and  copper),  the  one 
within  the  other,  boxes  holding  probably  relics  and 
other  precious  treasures.  This  custom  of  making  use 
of  more  than  one  cupola  is  also  peculiar  to  the  haug. 
One  at  Ostreim,  in  the  diocese  of  Bergheim,  is  made  up 
of  three  or  four  cupolas  roughly  built,  the  intermediate 
space  being  filled  in  with  rubble  and  turf,  with  coal, 
and  then  with  more  layers  of  rubble  and  turf,  and  then 
more  coal.  In  the  parish  of  Urland,  in  the  parish  of 
Lekanger,  in  the  parish  of  Haus,  haugs  with  interior 
cupolas  of  similar  construction  have  been  found. 

In  the  centre  of  both  tope  and  haug  is  a  quadrang- 
ular cell  formed  of  flags  of  stone  at  a  level  with  or  just 
above  the  basement.  Narrow  horizontal  passages  some- 
times connect  these  with  the  outside. 

In  their  accessories  the  tope  and  the  haug  have  fresh 
points  of  similarity.  Above  the  haug  is  often  found 
a  monolith  pointed  at  the  top.  This  reminds  the  pro- 
fessor of  the  spires  of  the  topes,  and,  indeed,  was  plainly 
the  Ch'attra.     Then,  again,  imitations  of  the  tope  rail- 


202  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

ing,  imperfect,  no  doubt,  from  want  of  the  power  of 
working  in  stone,  have  been  attempted  in  Norway, 
notably  at  the  Kongs  haug  at  Karmoe.  Ranges  of  cells 
are  found,  too,  in  both  tope  and  haug.  Ditches  are  often 
found  round  both.  Tanks,  ponds,  lakes,  holy  water  of 
some  sort,  must  be  near  these  sacred  edifices.  The  famous 
circles  of  upright  monoliths  are  also  found  near  them. 

"  The  articles  deposited  in  the  topes  and  the  haugs 
are  almost  the  same.  In  the  inner  cells  of  the  topes 
fine  raked  mould  is  found,  or  sand  and  cinders,  forming 
often  a  compact  mass.  In  some  topes  nothing  else  has 
been  found ;  in  others,  beneath  this  mass  of  earth  were 
urns  or  vases  containing  earth  of  a  reddish  colour, 
mingled  with  ochre.  Sometimes  in  these  urns  were 
found  human  ashes  and  fragments  of  bones,  and  some- 
times, in  addition,  coins  and  ornaments.  These  vases  are 
of  gold,  silver,  copper,  or  iron.  In  one  case  a  wooden 
vase  has  been  discovered.  Many  of  these  vases,  the 
one  within  the  other,  and  the  most  precious  one  in  the 
centre,  are  found  in  the  same  cell.  The  ornaments 
were  deposited  sometimes  in  the  vase  itself,  sometimes 
in  the  surrounding  earth ;  and  these  ornaments  consisted 
of  pearls,  precious  stones,  rings,  golden  bells,  and  other 
gold  objects  of  various  shapes,  gold  leaf,  silver  rings, 
etc.  In  the  matter  of  glass  and  crystal,  a  few  cylinders 
have  been  found,  and  two  little  phials,  one  of  which 
was  upset  and  had  its  cork  alongside.  It  contained  a 
few  drops  of  fluid.  In  a  silver  vase  a  fluid  was  also 
found,  brown  and  of  pungent  smell.  Resinous  and 
fatty  matter  has  also  been  found  in  some  of  the  topes, 
and  fragments  of  bark  and  leaves.  Once  the  bark  had 
been  made  into  a  box.  Oval  and  spherical  stones  have 
also  been  discovered. 


BUDDHA  IN  NORWAY  AND  AMERICA    203 

"  Having  thus  enumerated  the  principal  objects  that 
have  been  found  in  the  topes,  let  us  glance  at  the  con- 
tents of  the  haugs.  Their  cells  also  contain  fine  mould 
(mixed  sometimes  with  red  sand  and  ochre),  formed 
into  a  concrete  mass.  Urns  or  vases  have  also  been 
discovered,  in  iron  and  copper,  in  wire  and  in  wood. 
Glass  vases  have  also  been  found.  These  vases,  of  which 
several  have  been  discovered  in  the  same  cell,  contain 
human  ashes,  fragments  of  gold,  ornaments,  gold  coins, 
etc.  The  ornaments  consist  of  pearls,  brooches,  rings, 
etc.,  in  gold,  silver,  and  bronze ;  specimens  of  gold  and 
gold  leaf,  fatty  and  resinous  matter,  fragments  of  wood 
and  bark,  and  a  box  made  of  the  bark  of  a  tree,  have 
also  been  discovered.  One  bell  has  been  found,  and 
also,  in  a  glass  vase,  some  drops  of  a  fluid,  brown  and 
pungent.  Once  a  phial  was  found  also  having  traces 
of  fluid.  The  coins,  with  one  exception,  are  all  in  gold ; 
the  exception  was  a  silver  coin." 

In  the  topes,  lamps  are  found  ;  in  the  haugs,  never, — 
although  in  the  cells  of  the  latter  there  are  traces  of 
smoke.  In  connection  with  both  topes  and  haugs  are 
traditions  of  phantom  coruscations  seen  at  night,  which 
the  professor  connects  with  the  lamps  burning  inside. 
Sacred  trees  and  groves  are  near  both  topes  and  haugs 
whenever  practicable.  The  viharas  (convents)  in  Nor- 
way were  built  of  wood,  and  have  disappeared,  but 
some  traces  of  them  still  remain.  In  Norway  the  arms 
of  the  faithful  were  frequently  deposited  in  the  haugs, 
but  the  tope  builders  always  bore  in  mind  that  the 
great  Buddha  detested  such  things. 

Let  us  sum  up  the  results  already  established  by 
Professor  Holmboe : — 

1.  In  Norway  and  the  other  haunts  of  the  Norsemen 


204  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

are  found  five  religious  erections  and  their  concomi- 
tants— the  tumulus,  the  broch,  the  circle  of  stones, 
the  tank,  and  the  oval  sepulchral  hill,  which  five 
institutions  belong  to  Buddha,  and  no  other  known 
faith. 

2.  The  Asas  profess  to  have  come  from  Asaland  and 
Asgard,  beyond  the  Tanais,  regions  which  from  about 
B.C.  200  were  Buddhist. 

3.  This  history  is  confirmed  by  a  line  of  circles  and 
tumuli,  indicating  their  passage  across  Europe  to 
Scandinavia. 

But  it  is  when  we  turn  from  monuments  to  myth- 
ology that  our  difficulties  begin.  Iceland  has  pre- 
served for  us  a  rich  crop  of  those  myths  in  the  "  Elder  " 
and  "  Younger "  Eddas.  And  in  these  we  cannot  fail 
to  see  at  once  a  faith  radically  differing  from 
Buddhism.  As  in  the  Bhagavad  Gita,  the  courage  of 
the  hero  is  apparently  the  first  of  virtues.  Abundant 
flesh  of  the  boar  Ssehrimmer  will  keep  him  happy 
after  death,  and  many  flagons  of  celestial  beer  poured 
out  by  the  Valkyries.  But  then  it  might  be  urged  by 
Professor  Holmboe  that  the  migratory  race  that  trans- 
ferred Indra  and  his  Apsarases  to  Norway  might  also 
have  brought  the  Indian  creed  that  upset  India.  The 
most  splendid  haug  in  Norway  is  the  Valders'  haug,  the 
Tumulus  of  Balder, — and  Balder  is  a  gentle  god,  peace- 
ful, forgiving,  in  fact,  quite  out  of  touch  with  the  boosy, 
fighting  Norse  gods  and  men.  Then,  too,  in  Norse 
records  it  is  announced  that  Leif,  son  of  Erick  the  Red, 
visited  Vinland  A.D.  1000.  If  Vinland  is  America,  as 
is  now  believed,  and  if  in  America  there  are  found  any 
traces  of  Buddhism,  the  case  of  Professor  Holmboe 
would  of  course  be  stronger. 


BUDDHA  IN  NORWAY  AND  AMERICA    205 


Buddha  in  America 

The  popular  notion  that  Columbus  and  his  followers 
were  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  Eastern  hemisphere 
that  reached  the  Western  continent  is  becoming  dissi- 
pated by  modern  research.  M.  A.  de  Quatrefages 
maintains  that  the  discovery  of  the  black  man,  the 
white  man,  and  the  yellow  man  amongst  the  so-called 
aborigines  is  a  proof  of  the  distinct  migrations  of  each 
of  those  great  human  families.  He  shows  that  there 
are  many  points  where  geography  would  assist  migra- 
tions by  sea.  At  Behring  Straits  the  two  continents 
are  brought  close  together,  and  the  passage  is  partly 
bridged  by  the  group  of  the  St.  Laurence  Islands. 
Kamtschatka  and  Alaska,  with  the  intervening  Aleu- 
tian Islands,  show  another  point  of  passage  in  the 
Polar  rep-ions  which  the  Tchukchees  on  both  shores 
frequently  use.  The  currents  of  Tessan,  the  Black 
Stream  of  the  Japanese,  have  frequently  cast  floating 
bodies  and  abandoned  junks  upon  the  shores  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  equatorial  current  of  the  Atlantic  opens  a 
similar  route,  leading  from  Africa  to  America. 

The  Chinese  books  speak  of  a  country  called  Fou 
Sang,  to  which  they  sent  Buddhist  missionaries  in  the 
fifth  century.  Fou  Sang  is  20,000  li  (a  li  is  486 
yards)  from  China.  In  following  the  course  of  the 
Black  Stream  of  the  Japanese,  these  figures  would 
bring  us  to  California,  where  the  abandoned  junks  were 
stranded.     Fou  Sang  means  literally,  the  extreme  east. 

Klaproth  has  combated  the  idea  that  Fou  Sang  is 
the  continent  of  America,  and  holds  that  it  meant 
Japan.  But  M.  de  Risny  has  shown  from  a  Japanese 
encyclopaedia  that  the  Japanese  also  were  aware   of 


206  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

these  Buddhist  missions  to  a  distant  land,  which  they 
call  Fou  So.  The  Chinese  writers  speak  of  copper, 
gold,  and  silver  being  found  in  Fou  Sang,  but  no  iron. 
This  description  applies  to  America,  but  not  to  Japan. 
M.  Paravey  gives  a  Chinese  drawing  of  the  American 
llama  in  one  of  his  books.  "  I  have  heard  M.  Castelnau 
say,"  says  M.  de  Quatrefages,  '"When  I  was  sur- 
rounded by  my  Siamese  servants,  I  imagined  myself 
in  America!'"  In  the  Geografia  del  Peru,  by  Paz 
Soldan,  it  is  asserted  that  Chinese  recently  brought 
to  the  province  of  Lambayeque  were  able  to  converse 
with  the  American  natives.  In  the  large  folio  designs, 
furnished  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  is  one 
large  head  so  boldly  painted  that  it  might  well  have 
been  one  of  the  Japanese  embassy  painted  by  a  modern 
artist.  Pearl  fishery,  and  the  employment  of  murex 
for  its  beautiful  purple  dye,  are  other  points  which 
show  the  teaching  of  some  Eastern  nation. 

Humboldt  and  Laplace  have  detected  points  of  simi- 
larity between  the  astronomy  of  the  Mexicans  and 
that  of  the  Old  World  far  too  striking  to  be  the  result 
of  mere  chance.  The  Mexicans  had  the  twenty-eight 
mansions  of  the  lunar  zodiac,  which,  as  I  have  shown, 
is  far  more  ancient  than  the  solar  zodiac  of  twelve 
mansions.  Humboldt  also  was  much  struck  with  the 
similarity  between  the  symbols  of  the  Mexican  zodiac 
and  those  of  the  Buddhist  Tartars.  He  pointed  out 
that  the  Mexicans  have  "nine  lords  of  the  night," 
corresponding  to  the  "  nine  astrological  signs  of  several 
nations  of  Asia  "  (the  seven  planets  and  the  two  great 
serpents).  The  number  nine,  he  asserts,  was  plainly 
chosen  because  it  divides  into  the  360  days  of  the  lunar 
year. 


BUDDHA  IN  NORWAY  AND  AMERICA    207 

"  The  intercalation  of  twenty-five  days  in  one  hundred 
and  four  years,"  says  Laplace,  "  supposes  a  more  exact 
duration  of  the  tropical  years  than  that  of  Hipparchus, 
and,  what  is  very  remarkable,  almost  equal  to  that  of 
the  astronomers  of  Almamon.  When  we  consider  the 
difficulty  of  attaining  so  exact  determination  we  are 
led  to  believe  that  it  is  not  the  work  of  the  Mexicans, 
and  that  it  reached  them  from  the  old  continent." 

It  is  to  be  mentioned  that  in  the  Mexican  zodiac  are 
the  ass  and  the  tiger,  not  indigenous  in  America,  the 
serpent,  the  horse,  and  what  is  of  immense  importance, 
the  Makara  (cipactli)  of  Buddhism. 

Also  they  have  everywhere  the  topes  and  standing- 
stones,  and  the  serpent-symbols  of  the  Buddhists,  and 
a  tradition  of  Quatzalcoatl,  who  forbade  human  and 
other  bloody  sacrifices,  and  substituted  offerings  of 
flowers. 

The  Mexicans  had  the  Buddhist  rite  of  baptism, 
The  Mexicans  had  the  Buddhist  bloodless  oblation, 
which  took  the  form  of  little  images  of  maize  dough. 
They  had  processions,  a  hierarchy,  religious  commun- 
ities, periods  of  penance.  They  had  secret  mysteries, 
divided  into  three  grades  of  initiation.  They  had  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  also  the  mystic  vase.  They  had  a 
tradition  of  a  flood,  and  of  the  escape  of  one  man.  In 
their  narrative  of  the  deluge  was  also  the  incident  of 
the  dove.  The  priests  of  Cortes  saw  in  all  this  Satan 
parodying  the  mysteries  of  Christianity.  Even  the 
intelligent  Abbe  Guerin,  in  India,  was  convinced  that 
the  Institutes  of  Manu  were  plagiarised  from  the 
Latin  vulgate.  Regarding  the  rewards  and  punish- 
ments of  the  future,  ideas  analogous  to  those  of  the 
Buddhists  were  found  in  the  New  World. 


208  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

"  Those  who  have  gone  to  the  regions  of  punishment, 
they  believe  to  be  tortured  for  a  time  proportioned 
to  the  amount  of  their  transgressions,  and  that  they 
are  then  to  be  transferred  to  the  land  of  the  happy, 
where  they  are  again  liable  to  the  temptations  of  the 
evil  spirit,  and  answerable  again  at  a  future  period  for 
their  new  offences." 

They  held  also  that  the  world  was  supported  on  a 
great  tortoise,  which  animal  was  one  of  the  most  holy 
of  their  emblems. 

But  the  best  proof  of  Buddhist  proselytism  is  found 
in  the  pictures  and  statues  of  the  Mexican  Buddha. 
He  is  called  Xaca,  which  word  M.  Paravey  plausibly 
identifies  with  Sakya.  These  can  be  seen  in  the 
designs  furnished  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg 
from  Palenque.  M.  Paravey  showed  Burnouf  one  of 
these  Buddhas  without  telling  him  where  it  had  been 
found.  The  great  Sanskrit  scholar  at  once  pronounced 
it  to  be  a  representation  of  Sakya  Muni. 

I  have  only  been  able  to  touch  on  these  great  ques- 
tions, not  to  solve  them.  How  it  is  that  the  propa- 
gandism  of  the  Buddhist  missionaries  has  been  so 
successful,  and  the  work  of  other  missionaries  so  fruit- 
less, would  be  an  interesting  inquiry.  To  this  rule 
there  is  one  exception — the  missionary  labours  of  the 
higher  Christianity  before  it  was  tainted  and  stiffened 
by  contact  with  the  lower, 


CHAPTEE    XIII 

CONCLUSION 

Dr.  Crozier,  in  the  Fortnightly  Review  for  February 
1899,  is  very  hostile  to  Buddhism  and  the  Indian  re- 
ligions. He  announces  that  "  thought  in  its  evolution 
will  no  more  return  to  them  than  the  animal  kingdom 
will  return  to  the  marsupials."  The  Indian  God,  he 
holds,  is  an  "  impotent "  God.  He  is  described  as  a 
"  Great  Soul,"  and  modern  thought  requires  a  God  with 
will  and  energy,  a  God  who  can,  in  fact,  look  after  the 
world.  The  Indian  Gods  discountenance  action  and 
work  on  behalf  of  our  fellow-men,  and  lead  their  devotees 
to  occupy  themselves  mainly  in  saving  their  own  souls  " 
by  "  thinking  of  this  Supreme  Soul  when  in  a  state  of 
ecstasy,  the  eyes  being  fixed  on  the  tip  of  the  nose." 

This  deserves  attention.  The  Indian  philosophers 
have  no  doubt  always  been  a  little  vague  about  their 
God.  This  is  done  purposely.  They  say  that  if  you 
begin  to  limit  the  Absolute  it  becomes  the  Absolute 
no  longer.  "  Un  Dieu  defini,"  says  the  French  wit, 
"  c'est  un  Dieu  fini ! " 

The  East  clings  to  symbols,  to  metaphor.  They  break 
their  God  to  pieces  and  make  his  attributes  into  little 
Gods.  The  West  loves  a  God  that — what  shall  I  say  ? — 
can  be  photographed.  "  From  his  tapas,"  says  a  Buddhist 
book,  speaking  of  the  Buddha  of  Buddhas,  "  the  uni- 
14 


210  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

verse  was  produced  by  him.  He  is  the  Iswara  (Creator), 
the  infinite,  the  form  of  all  things  yet  formless." 

Here  we  are  in  the  presence  of  two  ideas  that 
elucidate  one  another.  In  India  the  Rishi,  the 
magician,  was  said  to  perform  his  magical  acts  when 
in  tapas,  the  mystical,  magical  trance.  Hence  the 
Buddha  of  Buddhas  and  the  Brahmin  Gods  are  imaged 
in  what  Dr.  Crozier  calls  "  a  state  of  ecstasy,  the  eyes 
being  fixed  on  the  tip  of  the  nose,"  and  if  Brahma 
created  evolution  and  then  sate  still,  he  really  seems 
quite  as  much  up  to  modern  thought  as,  say,  Paley's 
watchmaker  God  who  goes  about  correcting  the  works 
of  his  not  quite  perfect  watches.  But  this  Indian 
symbolism  goes  much  deeper.  The  enlightened  man 
and  the  enlightening  God  have  the  same  symbolic 
representation,  because  in  a  sense  they  are  one. 

"  What  is  God  ? "  said  the  missionary  Robson  to  a 
Brahmin : 

"  He  is  talking  to  you." 

There  lies  the  distinction  between  the  East  and  the 
West.  The  God  of  the  West  is  outside  humanity.  The 
God  of  the  East  is  sought  for  in  the  human  breast. 

But  in  justice  to  Dr.  Crozier,  we  may  mention  that 
the  modern,  up-to-date  philosophers  fare  as  badly  at 
his  hands  as  the  marsupial  Gods  of  India.  He  cites 
a  speech  uttered  by  Carlyle  when  he  called  upon  that 
great  sage  in  Chelsea.  "  We  have  reached  the  com- 
fortable conclusion  that  God  is  a  myth,  that  the  soul  is 
gas,  and  the  next  world  a  coffin."  As  a  substitute  for 
all  this,  Dr.  Crozier  gives  us  a  philosophy  of  his  own. 

He  calls  it  the  "  Scale  in  the  Mind."  In  every  one  of 
us  is  a  sort  of  "Judge."  He  is  "in  the  mind,"  but 
"  not  of  the  mind."     He  is  neither  "  conscience,  honour, 


CONCLUSION  211 

beauty,  reverence,  nor  love."  He  is  a  sort,  in  fact,  of 
subliminal  Baron  Hawkins,  and  he  tells  even  the 
higher  animals  when  they  are  doing  wrong.1  But  is 
all  this  getting  rid  of  the  marsupial  Brahma,  or  bring- 
ing him  back  again  in  a  horse-hair  wig  ? 

There  are  differences  between  the  two  Brahmas,  but 
is  the  balance  of  merits  with  Dr.  Crozier's  Brahma? 
The  King  of  Benin,  when  his  favourite  wife  has  the 
tic  douloureux,  believes  that  Mumbo  Jumbo  is  angry 
because  he  has  broken  some  silly  law  of  the  Taboo. 
At  once  inspired  by  his  remorse  or  his  "  Scale  in  the 
Mind,"  he  orders  the  massacre  of  fifty  subjects  to 
appease  the  deity.  Does  not  this  give  us  the  difference 
between  Dr.  Crozier's  and  the  Indian  Brahma.  The  first 
is  ready  to  inspire  anybody ;  the  second  must  have  the 
mind  prepared  and  the  soul  purified  before  he  can  enter. 

One  chief  popular  objection  to  Buddhism  runs  after 
this  fashion.  "  It  is  much  better  that  a  respectable 
young  man  should  toil  and  till,  and  marry  and  raise  up 
a  healthy  family,  than  abandon  his  young  wife  like 
Buddha  and  sit  idly  under  a  tree. 

This  is  true ;  but  if  the  Indian  philosophers  had  not 
reasoned  and  reflected  in  solitude,  there  would  probably 
still  be  nothing  to  till,  and  the  respectable  young  man 
would  have  to  share  his  wife  with  the  rest  of  the 
village  or,  perhaps,  monkey  gang.  The  philosopher's 
work  was  at  first  utilitarian,  as  well  as  superstitious. 
He  fashioned  bows  and  arrows,  as  well  as  imprecations. 
He  designed  rude  strategy  and  rude  politics.  He  super- 
intended agriculture.     He  invented  rude  moral  codes. 

Three  main  points  are  urged  by  Dr.  Crozier  against 
Buddha : 

1  Crozier,  My  Inner  Life,  p.  433. 


212  BUDDHA  AND   BUDDHISM 

1.  He  discountenanced  work  and  action  on  behalf  of 
our  fellow-men. 

2.  He  urged  folks  to  save  their  own  souls  by  con- 
templation and  asceticism. 

3.  Buddhism  had  no  support  in  its  system  for  a 
doctrine  of  love.1 

I  will  write  down  a  few  of  the  achievements  of  this 
inactive  Buddha  and  the  army  of  Bhikshus  that  he 
directed : 

1.  The  most  formidable  priestly  tyranny  that  the 
world  had  ever  seen  crumbled  away  before  his  attack, 
and  the  followers  of  Buddha  were  paramount  in  India 
for  a  thousand  years. 

2.  The  institution  of  caste  was  assailed  and  over- 
turned. 

3.  Polygamy  was  for  the  first  time  pronounced 
immoral,  and  slavery  condemned. 

4.  Woman,  from  being  considered  a  chattel  and 
a  beast  of  burden,  was  for  the  first  time  considered 
man's  equal,  and  allowed  to  develop  her  spiritual  life. 

5.  All  bloodshed,  whether  with  the  knife  of  the  priest 
or  the  sword  of  the  conqueror,  was  rigidly  forbidden. 

6.  Also,  for  the  first  time  in  the  religious  history  of 
mankind,  the  awakening  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  indi- 
vidual was  substituted  for  religion  by  body  corporate. 
It  is  also  certain  that  Buddha  was  the  first  to  proclaim 
that  duty  was  to  be  sought  in  the  eternal  principles  of 
morality  and  justice,  and  not  in  animal  sacrifices  and 
local  formalities  invented  by  the  fancy  of  priests. 

7.  The  principle  of  religious  propagandism  was  for 
the  first  time  introduced  with  its  two  great  instruments, 
the  missionary  and  the  preacher. 

1  Fortnightly  Review,  February  1899 


CONCLUSION  213 

8.  By  these,  India,  China,  Bactria,  and  Japan,  were 
proselytised;  and  the  Buddhist  missionaries  overran 
Persia  and  Egypt.  This  success  was  effected  by  moral 
means  alone,  for  Buddhism  is  the  one  religion  guiltless 
of  coercion.  It  is  reckoned  that  one-third  of  humanity 
is  still  in  its  fold. 

9.  Without  entering  any  further  into  the  great 
question  of  what  Christ  added  to  or  what  Christ 
removed  from  Essenism,  it  is  plain  that  from  Buddha 
came  the  main  elements  that  changed  Mosaism  into 
the  leading  creed  of  Europe. 

10.  One  great  gift  of  Buddha  to  the  world  is  quite 
overlooked.  In  the  Institutes  of  Manu  are  noted  down 
all  sorts  of  penalties  for  the  heretics  who  question  the 
Brahmin  claims.  We  know,  too,  that  Plato  was  sold 
as  a  slave  for  his  opinions,  and  Socrates  put  to  death. 
Buddhism  is  the  religion  of  the  individual,  and  from 
the  first  it  seems  to  have  held  toleration  of  other 
creeds  as  a  logical  outcome.  A  few  years  ago  an 
English  officer  in  Ceylon,  in  civil  employ,  gained  the 
affections  of  his  district.  At  his  death  the  Buddhists 
came  forward  and  offered  to  build  an  English  church 
as  a  memorial.  In  India  during  the  one  thousand 
years  of  Buddhist  rule  all  creeds  and  all  philosophies 
were  tolerated,  a  priceless  and  unexampled  boon  to 
the  thought  of  the  world. 

The  second  contention  of  Dr.  Crozier  is  that 
Buddhism  is  pure  selfishness;  and  the  third,  that 
Buddha  had  no  idea  of  love,  whereas  Jesus  by  His 
sacrifice  saved  the  world. 

A  clever  Buddhist  answered  the  missionaries  a  few 
years  ago  in  a  little  work  called  Happiness,  and  in 
his   view   the    selfishness   and   absence   of    love    and 


214  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

charity  were  to  be  found  in  quite  a  different  direction. 
This  anonymous  Buddhist  affirmed  that  the  God  of 
the  Christians  was  chiefly  an  object  to  be  feared. 
He  lived  in  a  remote  "  heaven  "  listening  to  perpetual 
songs  of  praise.  He  was  a  "jealous  God"  ready  to 
consign  almost  all  His  creatures  to  perpetual  torment, 
including  "800,000,000  Buddhists  in  every  fifty 
years,"  as  the  author  was  assured  by  a  missionary. 
This  God  proclaimed  that  credulity  and  subserviency 
to  His  priests  was  the  supreme  human  merit,  and 
that  independent  thought,  reason,  philosophy,  and 
soul  dreams,  the  great  sins.  His  motto  was,  "The 
fear  of  God  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom." 

Upon  this  statement  the  writer  pounced  with 
much  vivacity.  There  was  an  Ego  and  a  non-Ego, 
and  this  non-Ego  was  God.  He  was  not  in  a  remote 
heaven  but  here  on  earth,  and  the  one  object  of  the 
Buddhist  was  to  sink  the  Ego  and  its  petty  dreams 
and  become  in  harmony  with  the  Supreme  Mind. 
With  the  Buddhist  the  fear  of  the  Ego  was  the 
beginning  of  wisdom;  not  the  fear  of  the  non-Ego, 
which  was  wisdom  itself. 

I  do  not  think  it  does  much  good  to  compare 
Buddhism  and  Christianity  under  their  modern 
aspects,  and  to  argue  from  these  that  Jesus  taught 
this  and  Buddha  that.  The  house  of  Aaron  kept 
the  "  key  "  of  the  great  Temple  of  "  Knowledge,"  with 
its  hopes  and  dreams.  They  refused  to  go  in  them- 
selves, and  "  them  that  were  entering  they  hindered  " 
(Luke  xi.  52).  Buddha  likewise  found  a  mischievous 
hereditary  priesthood,  and  his  great  work,  like  that 
of  Jesus,  was  to  democratise  religion.  His  special 
characteristic   as   an   epoch-maker    I   conceive   to   be 


CONCLUSION  215 

this,  that  he  devised  less  a  teaching  than  an  apparatus 
for  spreading  a  teaching.  His  famished,  half-naked 
Parivrdjikas  marched  everywhere,  taught  everywhere, 
openly  if  possible,  secretly  if  necessary.  Their  secret 
societies,  Mithraists,  Hermetists,  Pythagoreans,  and  the 
o-uardians  of  the  Kabbalah  (a  treatise  of  palpable 
Buddhist  inspiration)  soon  spread  over  all  Europe  and 
Asia  Minor.  They  faced,  undaunted,  Rome  (Christian 
and  un-Christian),  the  Moslem,  the  Inquisition.  The 
achievements  of  the  Mussulman  Society  of  the  Rose 
and  the  persecuted  "  Kabbalists  "  read  like  a  fairy  tale. 
The  Reformation  and  the  great  French  Revolution  are 
attributed  to  them  by  the  enthusiastic  followers  of  St. 
Martin  and  the  Ilium  inati. 

Men  have  lived  in  the  past  whom  Plato  or  Clement 
of  Alexandria  would  have  praised.  Men  have  lived 
in  the  past  (a  distinct  group)  whom  John  Stuart  Mill 
or  Professor  Clifford  would  have  praised.  Would  these 
last  writers  have  given  Buddha  a  place  amongst  the 
world's  epoch-makers  ? 

Sir  Alexander  Cunningham,  whose  knowledge  (and 
love)  of  old  India  was  unique  amongst  moderns, 
announces1  that  Asoka  was  the  first  monarch  to 
bring  the  whole  of  India  under  control  of  a  vigorous 
and  consolidated  government.  He  broke  up  the  smaller 
States,  the  little  nests  of  brigands.  For  war,  over  an 
area  bigger  than  Europe,  he  substituted  peace;  for 
border  raids,  commerce  ;  for  the  hereditary  pretensions 
of  the  Brahmins,  the  claims  of  individual  conscience 
and  reason.  His  Dharmsdlas  were  hostelries,  hos- 
pitals, secular  schools,  as  well  as  convenient  spots  for 
mystical  dreamers.  They  were  advanced  posts  for 
1  Bhilsa  Topes,  p.  98. 


216  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

man  in  his  great  struggle  with  the  potent  forces  of 
nature,  for  the  engineer,  the  feller  of  forests,  the 
drainer  of  swamps,  the  sinker  of  wells,  the  maker  of 
roads.  From  Buddhist  rule  soon  emerged  a  prosperity 
never  known  in  India  before  or  since.  Vast  cities 
surged  up  with  domes  that  defy  the  centuries,  with 
delicate  carvings,  with  rock-cut  temples.  Pataliputra 
(the  modern  Patna)  stretched  for  nine  miles  along  the 
Ganges  and  for  a  mile  and  a  half  inland.  Kapilavastu, 
Buddha's  birthplace,  is  said  to  have  been  of  the  same 
vast  proportions.  Rajagriha  was  an  enormous  city. 
Nalanda,  the  Rome  of  the  Buddhist  hierarchy,  accom- 
modated thirty  thousand  monks.  From  the  great  city 
of  Besnagur  for  a  score  of  miles  stretches  a  range  still 
called  the  "Mountain  of  Shrines"  (Ghaityagiri).  It 
was  crowded  with  monasteries,  topes,  buildings,  in- 
cluding the  great  Sanchi  temple. 

"The  presence  of  these  large  monastic  establish- 
ments must,  for  a  time  at  least,  have  brought  both 
wealth  and  prosperity  to  the  country ;  and  the  remains 
of  their  embankments  thrown  across  the  valleys  be- 
tween Sanchi  and  Satdhara  show  that  the  Buddhist 
monks  were  as  famous  for  practical  agriculture  as  for 
philosophical  learning." 1 

And  Buddha's  undaunted  Parivrdjikas  carried 
peace  and  civilisation  across  the  seas  as  well  as 
through  the  jangals.  Asoka  himself  sent  his  son 
Mahendra  to  Ceylon,  and  that  island  was  promptly 
converted  to  the  Buddhist  faith.  At  a  later  date 
Java  was  gained  over,  a  fact  testified  by  its  fine 
Buddhist  temples  and  sculptures.  Buddhism  invaded 
Japan,   Burmah,   Cathay.      Sumatra   is   the   Sanskrit 

1  Cunningham,  Bhilsa  Topes,  p.  365. 


CONCLUSION  217 

word  Samudra.  Socotra  is  also  claimed  by  Sanskrit 
scholars.  Professor  Gustav  Oppert,  in  his  Ancient 
Commerce  of  India,  shows  that  Indian  merchants 
were  settled  in  Alexandria,  and  that  a  statue  in 
honour  of  the  river  Indus  was  set  up  there.  A 
valuable  work  has  come  down  to  us,  entitled  The 
Circumnavigation  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  It  is 
attributed  by  Dr.  Hunter 1  to  a  merchant  who  wrote 
about  A.D.  80,  the  palmy  days  of  Indian  Buddhism. 
The  work  gives  a  "  wonderfully  complete  presentment 
of  the  Indo-Egyptian  trade,"  and  a  list  of  ninety -five 
of  the  chief  articles  of  the  traffic.  Pliny  regrets  that 
fifty-five  million  sesterces  (£458,000)  were  annually 
drained  from  the  West  to  go  to  the  East.  A  Chinese 
book  of  botany  ascribed  to  a  prefect  of  Canton 
mentions  plants  growing  there  in  the  fourth  century 
A.D.  which  seem  to  have  been  brought  by  traders 
from  Arabia  and  the  Roman  provinces.  The  "knif- 
cash  "  of  China  have  been  traced  to  the  Indian  Ocean, 
if  we  may  trust  the  late  M.  Terrien  de  la  Couperie, 
prince  of  sinologists. 

How  much  of  this  material  prosperity  was  due  to 
lay  energy  and  how  much  to  Buddha  and  his  monks 
it  is  impossible  now  to  settle.  Cunningham  holds  that 
the  Buddhist,  like  the  Roman  hierarchy,  made  and 
unmade  kings.  In  the  days  of  Fa  Hian,  the  Chinese 
traveller  (a.d.  400),  the  proudest  monarchs  "  took  off 
their  tiaras  in  the  presence  of  the  monks."  "  All  the 
learning,  all  the  wealth,  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Bhikshus."  It  has  always  struck  me  that  we  have 
never  heard  the  whole  story  of  Anoka's  conversion 
from    Brahminism   to   Buddhism.      If    the    Buddhist 

1  History  of  India,  vol.  i.  p.  42. 


2i8  BUDDHA  AND  BUDDHISM 

monks  of  India  worked  their  propagandism  in  the 
form  of  a  secret  society,  as  they  undoubtedly  did  at 
a  very  early  date  in  Persia,  in  Egypt,  in  Palestine,  it 
is  possible  that  the  good  king  was  in  the  first  instance 
a  shrewd  politician,  and  that  his  hands  were  forced. 

Majestic  and  calm  amid  the  overturned  priestly 
tyrannies  that  his  Dharma  has  compassed  sits  the 
great  figure  of  Buddha,  careless  alike  of  idolatry  and 
misrepresentation.  That  this  unique  man  is  entitled 
to  a  niche  in  the  great  Pantheon  of  the  World's  Epoch- 
Makers  scarcely  admits  of  a  question. 


GLOSSARY   AND    INDEX 


Aditi,  the  Vedic  Universal  Mother. 

Adityas,  Sons  of  Aditi,  the  months  deified. 

America,  alleged  existence  of  Buddhism  in  ancient  America,  chap.  xii. 

203. 
Amitayas,  the  Buddha  of  immortal  life,  145. 
Amrita,   Pali  Amata,  immortality,    "bread  of  life,"   the  food  of  the 

sacrifice  after  consecration. 
Arhat,  one  emancipated  from  rebirths,  an  Adept. 
Arupaloka,  the  heavens  where  form  ceases. 
Asoka  on  "God,"  the  future  life,  prayer,  mysticism,  etc.,  114  et  seq.; 

his  attitude  towards  Buddhism,  114  et  seq. 
Avichi,  the  ' '  rayless  place, "  hell,  purgatory. 

Baptism,  the  Buddhist  rite  of,  170,  185. 

Bhagavat,  lord,  God,  a  title  applied  to  Buddha,  Vishnu,  and  £iva. 

Bhikshu,  beggar,  one  who  has  adopted  the  religious  life.  He  is  called 
also  Parivrajika  (wanderer),  Muni  (silent  one),  Sramana  (vile  one), 
Son  of  Buddha,  Son  of  Sakya,  Son  of  Dharma,  Man  of  Pure  Life, 
Smasanika  (dwelling  amid  tombs),  Houseless  one,  etc. 

Bigandet,  Bishop,  on  the  Buddhist  hierarchy,  132. 

Bimbisara,  advised  to  destroy  the  infant  Buddha,  30. 

Bodhi,  gnosis,  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  spirit,  annihilation  of  the  ego, 
and  mystical  union  of  the  soul  with  the  non-ego,  or  God. 

Bodhisatwa,  one  about  to  obtain  the  Bodhi  in  his  next  rebirth. 

Brahma,  the  Great  Spirit,  the  ineffable. 

Brahma,  the  anthropomorphic  god. 

Brahmacharins,  Seekers  of  Brahma,  name  for  Buddha's  early  disciples. 

Brahmajnani,  an  Adept. 

219 


220  GLOSSARY  AND   INDEX 

Buddha,  esoterically  God,  exoterically  S&kya  Muni.     See  Sakya  Muni. 
Buddhaghosa  and  the  atheism  of  Ceylon,  111 ;  his  history  of  the  con- 
vocations, 111. 
Burnout',  Emile,  derives  Christianity  from  Buddhism,  160. 

Carpet  (kusa  mat)  of  Brahma,  a  mystic  state. 

Ceylon,  vast  pretensions  claimed  for  scriptures  of,  126. 

Chaitya,  sepulchral  mound,  dolmen. 

Chakravartin  (lit.  "he  who  turns  in  the  Zodiac"),  a  king  of  kings. 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  on  India,  105. 

Colebrooke,  Henry,  on  the  burial  of  calcined  remains,  13  ;  Vedism  a 
monotheism,  14  ;  Nirvana  not  annihilation,  19  ;  derives  the  philo- 
sophy of  Pythagoras  from  Buddhism,  154. 

Convocations,  first,  106  ;  second,  111  ;  third,  127. 

Crozier,  Dr.,  announces  that  Buddha  discarded  a  "Supreme  Soul,"  7  ' 
condemns  Buddhism  and  other  Indian  religions,  209. 

Dagoba  (from  Dhatugarbha),  relic  shrine. 

Davids,  T.  W.  Ehys,  considers  early  Buddhism  an  atheism,  7  ;  affirms 
that  Buddha  denied  the  existence  of  the  soul  and  a  future  life, 
144  ;  affirms  that  the  Buddhism  of  the  Little  Vehicle  was  Agnostic, 
126  ;  his  translation  of  the  Tevigga  Sutta,  and  its  great  import- 
ance, 52  ;  his  Life  of  Buddha  from  the  Birth  Stories  96,  126  ; 
supports  the  authenticity  of  the  first  convocation,  126 ;  bases 
his  views  of  Buddhism  on  the  alleged  fact  that  the  Mahayana 
never  reached  Ceylon,  126. 

Dharanis,  prayers. 

Dharma,  the  laws  of  spirit,  the  "Wisdom  of  the  Other  Bank,"  49; 
personified  as  a  divine  woman,  116. 

Dhyana,  the  trance  of  extasia. 

Elephant,  its  meaning,  27  ;  Buddha's  descent  as  an,  27. 
Essene  rites,  164. 

Fa  Hian  cited,  134. 

Fasting,  Buddha's  forty-seven  days',  78. 
Fergusson,  James,  on  the  Sattapanni  cave,  109. 

Foucaux,  Philippe  Edouard,  his  translation  of  the  Lalita  Vistara  cited, 
26  et  passim. 

Gandharva,  a  cherub. 
Gatha,  a  poem,  a  verse. 


GLOSSARY  AND   INDEX  221 

Goldstucker,  Professor,  denies  that  Nirvana  means  annihilation,  19. 
Grueber,  Father,  on  the   similarity  of  Buddhist  and  Christian   rites, 

191. 
Guru,  a  spiritual  teacher. 

Hue,  the  Abbe,   on  the  similarity  of  Buddhist  and  Christian    rites, 

191. 
Hwen  Thsang,  states  objections  of  earlier  Buddhism  to  Agnostic  school, 

138,    139;   on   the  Convocation   of   Kaniska,    138;   Buddhism   of 

Ceylon  belongs  to  the  Greater  Vehicle,  127. 

Isana,  God,  on  the  Asoka  stones,  279. 

Jina,  a  conqueror  of  his  lower  nature,  a  Buddha. 

Karma,  the  effects  of  sins  or  good  deeds,  which  are  supposed  to  land 
the  doer  in  the  hell  Avichi  or  the  heavens  of  the  Devaloka,  and 
detain  him  until  the  said  Karma  is  exhausted.  He  is  then 
born  once  more  into  the  world,  his  Karma  influencing  the  new 
birth. 

Kellogg,  Professor,  on  the  Metempsychosis,  176. 

Lama,  the  high  priest  of  Tibet,  descended    most  probably  from  the 

Acharya  of  Nalanda. 
Lightfoot,  Bishop,  of  Durham,  considers  Christ's  movement  anti-Essene, 

162,  165. 

Mahadeo,  a  monolith  or  menhir,  "  Great  God,"  a  name  of  Siva. 

Mandala,  mystic  ring. 

Mantra,  prayer,  charm. 

Manushi  (mortal),  Buddhas,  seven,  103. 

Mara,  the  Buddhist  Satan. 

Megasthenes  on  India,  101,  105. 

Nairanjana,  the  Buddhist  Jordan. 

Nirvana,  heaven. 

Norway,  Buddhism  in,  chap.  xii.  199. 

Oldenburg,  Dr.,  rejects  second  convocation,  125. 

Palasa,  Butea  frondosa. 

Paramitas,  the  ten,  the  "qualities  of  the  Other  Bank." 


222  GLOSSARY  AND   INDEX 

Parivrajika.     See  Bhikshu. 

Parsvika,  a  leader  in  the  Agnostic  revolution  in  Buddhism  entitled 
the  "Great  Vehicle,"  138. 

Prajfia  Paramita,  the  "Wisdom  of  the  Other  Bank";  wisdom  per- 
sonified hy  a  woman,  116. 

Pyrrho-Buddha,  set  up,  135  ;  dethroned,  145. 

Rajendra  Lala  Mitra  shows  that  the  "  Greater  Vehicle"  was  plagiarised 

from  the  Brahmin  Sunyavadi,  140. 
Rishi,  prophet,  man  of  God  ;  his  religion,  9. 
Rosny,  Leon  de,  derives  Christianity  from  Essenism  and  Buddhism, 

159. 

Sakya  Muni,  results  of  his  movement,  212  ;  comes  down  to  earth  as  a 
white  elephant,  27  ;  miraculous  birth,  26  ;  marriage,  36  ;  the  four 
presaging  tokens,  35  ;  leaves  the  palace,  46  ;  sits  under  the  tree 
of  knowledge,  47  ;  on  the  Brahma  religion,  52  ;  his  reform,  56  ; 
begins  to  preach,  48  ;  the  historical  Buddha,  56  ;  death  of,  94. 

Siladitya  introduces  Agnostic  Buddhism,  138. 

Skandhas,  the  five  (lit.  "bodies"),  usually  applied  by  Buddhists  to  the 
animal  nature  of  man. 

Southern  account  of  Buddha's  movement,  96. 

St.  Matthew  an  Essene,  167. 

St.  James  an  Essene,  167. 

Stambha,  upright  monolith,  menhir. 

Sunya,  the  void,  the  "Great  Nowhere.' 

Sunya  pushpa,  the  "Carriage  that  drives  to  the  Great  Nowhere,"  a 
nickname  for  the  Agnostic  or  innovating  school  of  Buddhism,  the 
Buddhism  of  the  "Great  Vehicle." 

Sutra,  discourse. 

Swayaihvara,  marriage  by  athletic  competition  (lit.  "her  own 
choice"). 

Tapas,  self-torture  (swinging  on  hooks,  etc.)  to  gain  magical  power. 

Tathagata.     See  Buddha. 

Tirthas,  tanks,  shrines. 

Tope,  a  dolmen,  or  sepulchral  mound. 

Tusita,  the  highest  heaven  to  be  reached  by  unemancipated  spirits. 

Vaitarani,  the  Brahmin  River  of  Death. 
Varsha,  the  rainy  season,  the  Buddhist  Lent. 
Vihara,  a  monastery. 


GLOSSARY  AND   INDEX  223 

Williams,  Sir  Monier,  pronounces  Buddhism  atheistic,  7 ;  it  ignores 
all  "spiritual  aspirations,"  50  ;  general  denunciation,  118. 

Wilson,  Professor,  Vedic  gods  represent  halting-places  on  the  zodiac, 
in  the  sun's  annual  course,  15. 

Yoga  (lit.  "union"),  the  conjoining  of  heaven  and  earth,  spirit,  and 
matter,  the  annihilation  of  the  ego  and  merging  of  one's  will  with 
the  divine  will.  Magical  powers  were  conceived  to  be  a  result  of 
this  "union."     Hence  Yoga  also  means  white  magic. 


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* 


THE  WORLD'S   EPOCH-MAKERS. 

BUDDHA   AND   BUDDHISM. 

The  First  Bursting  of  the  Fetters  of  Ignorance  and  Superstition. 
By  Arthur  Lillie,  M.A.,  London.  [Now  ready. 

SOCRATES. 

The  Moral  Awakening  of  the  Western  World.     By  Rev.  J.  T. 
Forbes,  M.A.,  Edinburgh. 

PLATO  AND  ARISTOTLE. 

A  Contrast  and  Appreciation.     By  Professor  D.  G.  Ritchie, 
M.A.,  University  of  St.  Andrews. 

MARCUS  AURELIUS  AND  THE  LATER  STOICS. 

The  Last  and  the  Greatest  Age   of  Stoicism.      By  F.  W. 
BUSSELL,  D.D.,  Vice- Principal  of  Brasenose  College,  Oxford. 

ORIGEN  AND  GREEK  PATRISTIC  THEOLOGY. 
By  Rev.  W.  Fairweather,  M.A. 

AUGUSTINE  AND  LATIN  PATRISTIC  THEOLOGY. 
By  Professor  B.  B.  Warfield,  D.D.,  Princeton. 

MAHOMET  AND  MAHOMETANISM. 

By  P.  De  Lacy  Johnstone,  M.A.(Oxon.). 

ANSELM  AND  CUR  DEUS  HOMO. 
By  Rev.  A.  C.  Welch,  B.  D. 

FRANCIS    AND    DOMINIC  — THE    FOUNDERS     OF     THE 
MENDICANT  ORDERS. 
Monasticism  and  its  Reform.      By  Professor  J.  Herkless, 
D.D.,  University  of  St.  Andrews. 

SCOTUS  ERIGENA  AND  HIS  EPOCH. 

By  R.  Latta,  Ph.D.,  D.Sc,  University  College,  Dundee. 

WYCLIF   AND  THE   LOLLARDS. 
By  Rev.  J.  C.  Carrick,  B.D. 

THE  MEDICI  AND  THE  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE. 
By  Oliphant  Smeaton,  M.A.,  Edinburgh. 

THE  TWO   BACONS  AND   EXPERIMENTAL  SCIENCE. 

Showing  how  Roger  Bacon  prepared  the  way  for  Francis 
Bacon,  Lord  Verulam.    By  Rev.  W.  J.  Couper,  M.A. 

SAVONAROLA. 

By  G.  M 'Hardy,  D.D. 


NEW  YORK :   CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS. 


THE  WORLD'S    EPOCH-MAKERS-CONTINUED. 

LUTHER  AND  THE   GERMAN  REFORMATION. 

By  Professor  T.  M.  Lindsay,  D.D.,  F.C.  College,  Glasgow. 

[Now  ready. 
CRANMER  AND  THE   ENGLISH   REFORMATION. 

By  A.  D.  Innes,  M.A.(Oxon.),  London.  [Now  ready. 

CALVIN  AND  THE   REFORMED  THEOLOGY. 

By  Principal  Salmond,  D.D.,  F.C.  College,  Aberdeen. 

PASCAL  AND  THE  PORT  ROYALISTS. 

By  Professor  W.  Clark,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.,  Trinity  College, 
Toronto. 

DESCARTES,  SPINOZA,  AND  THE  NEW  PHILOSOPHY. 
By  Professor  J.  Iverach,  D.D.,  F.C.  College,  Aberdeen. 

THE  HERSCHELS. 

By  James  Sime,  M.A. 

WESLEY  AND  METHODISM. 

By  F.  J.  Snell,  M.A.(Oxon.).  [Now  ready. 

LESSING  AND  THE  NEW  HUMANISM. 

Including  Baumgarten  and    the  Science  of   ^Esthetics.     By 
Rev.  A.  P.  Davidson,  M.A. 

HUME    AND    HIS     INFLUENCE    ON     PHILOSOPHY    AND 
THEOLOGY. 

By  Professor  J.  Orr,  D.D.,  Edinburgh. 

ROUSSEAU  AND  NATURALISM  IN  LIFE  AND  THOUGHT. 
By  Professor  W.  H.  Hudson,  M.A.,  Leland  Stanford  Junior 
University,  California. 

KANT  AND   HIS  PHILOSOPHICAL  REVOLUTION. 

By  Professor  R.  M.  Wenley,  D.Sc,  Ph.D.,   University  of 
Michigan. 

SCHLEIERMACHER     AND     THE     REJUVENESCENCE     OF 
THEOLOGY. 
By  Professor  A.  Martin,  D.  D. ,  New  College,  Edinburgh. 

HEGEL  AND  HEGELIANISM. 

By  Professor  R.  Mackintosh,  D.D.,  Lancashire  Independent 
College,  Manchester. 

NEWMAN  AND  HIS   INFLUENCE. 

By  C.  Sarolea,  Ph.D.,  Litt.  Doc,  University  of  Edinburgh. 


NEW  YORK:    CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS. 


HANDBOOKS 

for  Bible  Classes  ano  {private  Stuoents. 

EDITED   BY 

Prof.  MARCUS  DODS,  D.D.,  and  ALEXANDER  WHYTE,  D.D. 


'/  name  specially  the  admirable  Handbooks  for  Bible  Classes  issued  by 
T.  &  T.  Clark  of  Edinburgh.  They  are  very  cheap,  and  among  them  are  some  books 
unsurpassed  in  their  kind.'— Dr.  W.  Robertson  Nicoll  in  The  British  Weekly. 


Professor  Marcus  Dods,  D.D 
Genesis. 


COMMENTARIES 

Cents 
60 


James  Macgregor,  D.D. 
Exodus.    2  Vols.  each  60 

Principal  Douglas,  D.D. 
Joshua.    Judges.  each  45 

Professor  J.  G.  Murphy,  LL.D. 
Chronicles.  45 

Professor  Marcus  Dods,  D.D. 
Haggai,  Zechariah,  Malachi.  60 

Principal  Douglas,  D.D. 
Obadiah  to  Zephaniah.  45 

Professor  T.  M.  Lindsay,  D.D. 
Mark.  75 

GENERAL 

Cents. 


James  Stalker,  D.D. 
The  Life  of  Christ. 
The  Life  of  St.  Paul. 
(Large-type  Editions,  $1.50  each). 

Alexander  Whyte,  D.D. 
The  Shorter  Catechism. 

Professor  J.  S.  Candlish,  D.D. 
The  Christian  Sacraments. 
The  Christian  Doctrine  of  God. 
The  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  Biblical  Doctrine  of  Sin. 

Norman  L.  Walker,  D.D. 
Scottish  Church  History. 

Rev.  W.  D.  Thomson,  M.A. 
The  Christian  Miracles  and  the 
Conclusions  of  Science. 


60 

George  Smith,  LL.D.,  F.R.G.S.,  CLE. 
History  of  Christian  Missions.        75 

Archibald  Henderson,  D.D. 
Palestine:      Its     Historical 
Geography.     With  Maps.  75 

Professor  T.  M.  Lindsay,  D.D. 
The  Reformation.  60 

Rev.  John  Macpherson,  M.A. 
The  Sum  of  Saving  Knowledge.      45 
The  Confession  of  Faith.  60 

Presbyterianism.  45 


Cents. 


Professor  T.  M.  Lindsay,  D.D. 
St.  Luke.     2  Vols. 

(Vol.  I.)  60 

(Vol.  II.)  45 

George  Reith,  D.D. 
St.  John.    2  Vols.  each  60 

Professor  T.  M.  Lindsay,  D.D. 
Acts.    2  Vols.  each  45 

Principal  Brown,  D.D. 
Romans.  60 

James  Macgregor,  D.D. 
Galatians.  45 

Professor  J.  S.  Candlish,  D.D. 
Ephesians.  46 

Professor  A.  B.  Davidson,  D.D. 
Hebrews.  75 

SUBJECTS— 


Professor  Binnie,  D.D. 
The  Church. 


Cents 
45 


Professor  T.  B.  Kilpatrick,  D.D. 
Butler's     Three     Sermons     on 
Human  Nature.  45 

President  Hamilton,  D.D. 
History    of    the    Irish    Presby- 
terian Church.  60 

Rev.  W.  Scrymqeour,  M.A. 
Lessons  on  the  Life  of  Christ.        76 

A.  Taylor Innes,  M. A.,  Advocate. 
Church  and  State.  75 

Rev.  J.  Feather. 
The    Last    of    the     Prophets- 
John  the  Baptist.  60 

Rev.  W.  Fairweather,  M.A. 
From  the  Exile  to  the  Advent.      60 

Professor  J.  Laidlaw,  D.D. 
Foundation  Truths  of  Scripture 
as  to  Sin  and  Salvation.  45 

Rev.  L.  A.  Muirhead,  B.D. 
The  Times  of  Christ.  60 

Rev.  J.  P.  Lilley,  M.A. 
The  Principles  of  Protestantism.      75 


Edinburgh:    T.   &   T.    CLARK,    38    George    Street. 
New  York:   CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS. 


